Mobirise
Mobirise


Lefteris Polemis, the second owner of the Monastery of Agia Irini Andros, has passed away. The deeply religious captain, the successful ship owner, leaves behind an important work ...    A heavy legacy for the next generations ...

From Friday, May 14, 2021, the five exhibitions with private collections at the Monastery of Agia Irini, are open to the public again.

The Church of the Holy Monastery of Agia Irini, remains open daily, 10: 00-16: 00, for individual prayer and short stay at the place of worship.

All the necessary measures provided by the health protocol for the treatment of the coronavirus pandemic are applied in the premises of the Monastery.

Contact telephone: 6982994067


History

The monastery of Saint Irene was founded in 1780 at Archontas in the village of Apoikia by the Spiridou brothers, both of whom were monks. 
At that time it was a nunnery, but in 1834 it was abandoned, due to King Otto's Royal Degree which demanded the dissolution of the orthodox monasteries, which numbered about 1000 in Greece, with a smalls number of monks or nuns and the confiscation of their properties. Gradually, the buildings around the church collapsed, although the church remained in good condition.

In 2006, Captain Eleftherios Polemis bought the field which included the ruins of the monastery. He and his family renovated the buildings around the church and did maintenance work inside the church, remaining true to the previous architectural form. The renovation took 10 years.
Nowadays, the monastery plays a big role in the community. It holds summer camps for children, many of whom are orphans.

Furthermore, throughout the whole year it houses the following exhibitions:
1. History of writing (Kairis Collection)
2. Traditional musical instruments 
3. Collection of stones, minerals & fossils (Spiros Mpellas collection)
4. Elli Mandaraka - Stamatiadou & Flora of Andros
5. Collection "Blacksmiths, handicrafts" (collection of Michael Kairis)


The Monastery celebrates twice: 5th of May (saint Irene, the Great Martyr) and 28th of July (saint Irene, Abbess of Chrisovalantou Monastery in Constantinople) .

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