Toplou Monastery

About

The Toplou Monastery (Greek: Μονή Τοπλού, romanized: Moni Toplou, lit. 'Monastery of the Place of the Cannon') is a Greek Orthodox monastery located in a semi-arid area of the Lasithi region, on the eastern part of the island of Crete, Greece. Situated approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of Palekastro and 85 km (53 mi) east of Agios Nikolaos, it is at the base of the Itanos promontory from which Cape Sidero, the easternmost point of Crete, projects to the northeast. The nearest settlements are Sitia to the west and Palaikastro to the southeast; otherwise, the entire promontory is uninhabited except for the modern military reservation at the tip of the cape.

Believed to have been founded in the 14th century, the monastery was placed on the upper southern slope of Moni Toplou Gorge (named after it), a tortuous, geologically and ecologically interesting ravine exiting into the Sea of Crete through a boulder-strewn declivity called "the Abbott's Beach" (he paralia tou hegoumenou). Today the ravine is one of the reasons why the whole area has been incorporated into Sitia Geopark. The original placement was made near a copious spring draining into the gorge, now the site of a windmill...

The monastery is dedicated to Panagia ( Virgin Mary ) and St. John the Theologian. The monastery, especially the main building, is a composite of structures resulting from its frequent destruction and consequent rebuilding. Different parts of it have different dates of origin. These appear in the literature as different "foundation dates." More accurately the original foundation date remains unknown, while the others are only rebuilding dates.

The oldest identifiable structure is the northern nave of the church in the inner courtyard, which has two. The northern once stood alone before any fortifications had been built. It is and perhaps originally was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Cape. The frescoes on its walls are as early as the 14th century. This is the only solid evidence of its earliest known date. The evidence dates to a century well within the period of Venetian sovereignty over Crete. The Venetians, however, were of the Roman brand of Christianity, whereas the monks were Greek Orthodox. Not enough is known to extend the date into times when the Orthodox were ascendant.

After the fall of Constantinople on May 20, 1453, and consequent end of the Byzantine Empire, Cretan defenders of the city returned to Venetian Candia along with "a stream of refugees." As the Ottoman Empire proceeded to establish itself in the Aegean Sea, Crete, "the last Latin principality," became "no longer safe." Turkish privateers, having taken the Cyclades, ravaged its coasts, plundering to support the Turkish war treasury, destroying settlements, and capturing population for sale as slaves. Sitia was attacked in 1471. Muslim corsairs found their way in 1498 to the undefended Toplou Monastery and sacked it.

Suleiman the Magnificent had employed the pirate, Hayreddin Barbarossa, giving him 200 galleys, to capture the Greek islands. He turned to the north coast of Crete in 1538, burning crops, confiscating farm animals, and taking slaves. By this time Barbarossa was operating from the new Barbary State founded in Algiers. These pirates raided as far away as the coast of England, capturing on one occasion Reverend Devereux Spratt, ancestor of Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt, later explorer of Crete and friend to the monastery. The reverend though ransomed stayed on in Algiers as minister to the Christian slaves until expelled.

The monastery collapsed in 1612 due to a strong earthquake. Centered near Heraklion, the quake, of magnitude 7.2 (Richter), affected mainly northern Crete, bringing down buildings and sinking ships in the harbor due to the tsunami. The collapse provided an opportunity to the Venetians to fortify the monastery against the growing corsair problem. On November 5, 1612, Nicolo Balbi, mayor of Sitia and ex-rector of the monastery, wrote to the senate of the Republic of Venice stating that the fortifications of the monastery had been so reduced that it could not be defended against raids.

The Senate decided to financially aid in rebuilding it. A decree of March 13, 1613, allocated 200 ducats, presumably Venetian standard, presumably gold, presumably representing a lot of money, to the abbott, "Gabriele Pantogalo" for the rebuilding of the monastery. Venice was Roman Catholic; the monastery, Greek Orthodox. In Crete there had been some contention earlier. The decree said nothing strategic at all, but that topic was alraady covered by the petitioner. Instead the Senate appended the comment "it having appeared that the church is well attended by many subjects of our kingdom."

If "our kingdom" is Venice, the comment appears to identify the reason for the Senate's generosity. The Balbi family, ascendant at Venice and also at Genoa (connection unknown) claimed descent from a gens of the same name in ancient Rome, as did the Cornaro family of Venice (from Cornelii ). Apparently there were equal numbers of Catholic and Greek Orthodox monasteries. When the noble Andrea Cornaro made out his will in 1611 he bequested large numbers of both. Apparently in this period, which some historians would call "the Cretan Renaissance," the two brands of Christianity had overcome their antagonism.

The monastery flourished until the surrender of eastern Crete to the Turks in 1646, after which it was abandoned for a long time. In 1704, it acquired special protection privileges from the Patriarch (i.e., stauropegic ) and was re-inhabited. After its monks were slaughtered by Turks in 1821 during the Greek Revolution of Independence, Toplou was again deserted until 1828. In 1866, during the massive Cretan revolt against the Turks, it was once again devastated.

During the German occupation of 1941–44, Toplou was providing shelter to resistance fighters and housed their wireless radio. When this was discovered by the Germans, the abbot and two monks were tortured and executed.

The monastery is dedicated to Panagia ( Virgin Mary ) and St. John the Theologian. The monastery, especially the main building, is a composite of structures resulting from its frequent destruction and consequent rebuilding. Different parts of it have different dates of origin. These appear in the literature as different "foundation dates." More accurately the original foundation date remains unknown, while the others are only rebuilding dates.

The oldest identifiable structure is the northern nave of the church in the inner courtyard, which has two. The northern once stood alone before any fortifications had been built. It is and perhaps originally was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Cape. The frescoes on its walls are as early as the 14th century. This is the only solid evidence of its earliest known date. The evidence dates to a century well within the period of Venetian sovereignty over Crete. The Venetians, however, were of the Roman brand of Christianity, whereas the monks were Greek Orthodox. Not enough is known to extend the date into times when the Orthodox were ascendant.

After the fall of Constantinople on May 20, 1453, and consequent end of the Byzantine Empire, Cretan defenders of the city returned to Venetian Candia along with "a stream of refugees." As the Ottoman Empire proceeded to establish itself in the Aegean Sea, Crete, "the last Latin principality," became "no longer safe." Turkish privateers, having taken the Cyclades, ravaged its coasts, plundering to support the Turkish war treasury, destroying settlements, and capturing population for sale as slaves. Sitia was attacked in 1471. Muslim corsairs found their way in 1498 to the undefended Toplou Monastery and sacked it.

Suleiman the Magnificent had employed the pirate, Hayreddin Barbarossa, giving him 200 galleys, to capture the Greek islands. He turned to the north coast of Crete in 1538, burning crops, confiscating farm animals, and taking slaves. By this time Barbarossa was operating from the new Barbary State founded in Algiers. These pirates raided as far away as the coast of England, capturing on one occasion Reverend Devereux Spratt, ancestor of Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt, later explorer of Crete and friend to the monastery. The reverend though ransomed stayed on in Algiers as minister to the Christian slaves until expelled.

The monastery collapsed in 1612 due to a strong earthquake. Centered near Heraklion, the quake, of magnitude 7.2 (Richter), affected mainly northern Crete, bringing down buildings and sinking ships in the harbor due to the tsunami. The collapse provided an opportunity to the Venetians to fortify the monastery against the growing corsair problem. On November 5, 1612, Nicolo Balbi, mayor of Sitia and ex-rector of the monastery, wrote to the senate of the Republic of Venice stating that the fortifications of the monastery had been so reduced that it could not be defended against raids.

The Senate decided to financially aid in rebuilding it. A decree of March 13, 1613, allocated 200 ducats, presumably Venetian standard, presumably gold, presumably representing a lot of money, to the abbott, "Gabriele Pantogalo" for the rebuilding of the monastery. Venice was Roman Catholic; the monastery, Greek Orthodox. In Crete there had been some contention earlier. The decree said nothing strategic at all, but that topic was alraady covered by the petitioner. Instead the Senate appended the comment "it having appeared that the church is well attended by many subjects of our kingdom."

If "our kingdom" is Venice, the comment appears to identify the reason for the Senate's generosity. The Balbi family, ascendant at Venice and also at Genoa (connection unknown) claimed descent from a gens of the same name in ancient Rome, as did the Cornaro family of Venice (from Cornelii ). Apparently there were equal numbers of Catholic and Greek Orthodox monasteries. When the noble Andrea Cornaro made out his will in 1611 he bequested large numbers of both. Apparently in this period, which some historians would call "the Cretan Renaissance," the two brands of Christianity had overcome their antagonism.

The monastery flourished until the surrender of eastern Crete to the Turks in 1646, after which it was abandoned for a long time. In 1704, it acquired special protection privileges from the Patriarch (i.e., stauropegic ) and was re-inhabited. After its monks were slaughtered by Turks in 1821 during the Greek Revolution of Independence, Toplou was again deserted until 1828. In 1866, during the massive Cretan revolt against the Turks, it was once again devastated.

During the German occupation of 1941–44, Toplou was providing shelter to resistance fighters and housed their wireless radio. When this was discovered by the Germans, the abbot and two monks were tortured and executed.