Monastery of Koutloumousiou
Dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Saviour, this monastery, the sixth in the hierarchy,
was probably erected in the first half of the l2th century A.D., according to a document dating
from A.D. 1169. Its founder was probably a monk from Africa (koutloumous the saint from Ethiopia).
Decimated by the raids of the Catalans, it found a fervent supporter and generous patron in
the person of Ioannis Vladislav, Prince of Hungro-Wallachia (second half of the l4th century). The monastery acquired prestige and power through
its designation as a patriarchal establishment (A.D.1393), its annexation of the Monastery of Alypios
(A.D.1428) and gifts from many emperors.
In A.D. 1497 it was destroyed by a great fire, and again in A.D. 1767 and A.D. 1870. It was supported in its
times of trial by laymen and clerics from many parts of the Orthodox Christian world who made generous contributions.