Moundon

Location

This monastery is located in the village of Dievcha, in the northern part of Chios, before Volissos. It honors the name of Agios Yianis Prodromos (Saint John the Forerunner) on August 2nd. It was renovated by the monk Iakovos Lagadiotis in 1574 and, after that of Nea Moni, it was considered the most important monastery in the island. Men of the Chian aristocracy lived there as monks.

The monastery maintains an impressive library with a significant parchment dated from1462 A.D., which is probably the last will and testament of the holy Matrona, citizen of Chios. It offers good samples of byzantine architecture and art.

In 1822 the monastery was destroyed by the Turks and it was later restored. The interior walls of the church of the Monastery display a series of impressive wall paintings dating around 1620, 1730 and 1849. These beautiful frescoes are maintained in good condition and display a combination of the folk technique with Western influence.