The St. Paraskevi Holy Monastery stands to the south of the
department
of Serres, some 2 km from the
village
Domiros and 5 km from the foothill of
Pangeo
Mountain.
The exact date of the foundation of the Monastery is still unknown.
However, it is still considered among the oldest Monasteries of our country.
According to one version and given that the printed books and the
codex of the Monastery have been destroyed by various invaders, the Monastery
is considered to be a former metochi (dependency) of the
Blessed
Virgin Mary Ikosifinissa Monastery. Furthermore, the Monastery is closely
related with the Center of monastic life, the
Holy
Mount. According to a diary of the
Iviron
Abbey, the ruler of Serbia, Stephen Dushan confirmed the Monastery to the
Iviron Abbey in 1345.
Until the year 1924 the Monastery was often devastated by various
invaders. Until then the Monastery was inhabited only by monks.
In 1924 with the uprooting of the communities of
Pontus
(the region of northeastern Anatolia, bording on the
Black
Sea), 6 Nuns from the St. John Prodromos Monastery situated at Imavra in
Pontus,
joined the Monastery. At this time the Monastery was completely derelict. The
only thing remaining was the church and some icons. The Nuns transferred to their
new home anything they could from the heirlooms of St. John Prodromos Monastery
(the majority of the icons of the iconostasis, liturgical objects, Gospels, Holy
Relics etc.).
Afterwards, the Monastery started to be rebuilt. Its present form
(1997) is due to the superhuman efforts of the Superior, who since 1988 has transformed
the Monastery into a real worksite. It is the first women’s Monastery in
Macedonia. Today it houses 11 Nuns occupied with hagiography, needlework etc.
The guest house of the Monastery can accommodate organized tourist groups. The
feast day of the Monastery is on 26 July to commemorate Saint Martyr Paraskevi.
This text (extract) is cited September 2003 from the Prefecture
of Serres tourist pamphlet.
