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Agia Lavra is a historical monastery, one of the oldest in Greece, and the place of the beginning of the Greek Revolution. It was founded in 961, while it was transferred to its current location in 1689. In the monastery there are many historical and religious relics while its most valuable treasure is considered the banner on which the fighters of the Revolution of 1821 were sworn in.

This point of interest is Mountainous and Rural. It is accessible all year round. It is accessible through public transport. It has no fee or ticket. Winter Hours:10:00-13:00 & 15:00-16:00 | Summer Hours: 10:00-13:00 & 16:00-17:00

The Legend of Agia Lavra

According to the legend of Agia Lavra, the Greek Revolution in the Peloponnese began on March 25, 1821, when Germanos of Old Patras raised the banner of the revolution at the monastery of Agia Lavra in Kalavryta. This view was widely spread already in the first post-revolutionary years. This legendary scene is mentioned in many sources and its artistic representations were reproduced en masse. Since the 19th century, some historians have considered this account fictional. Also, some modern historians accept that the legend lacks historical basis and is inspired by the French Philhellenic Francois Pouqueville, or they do not refer to the legend at all.

The legend of the proclamation of the Revolution in Agia Lavra occupies an important place in Greek public history and is the subject of ideological controversy. It was taught as a fact in Greek schools until 1982, but has been omitted from the newer history books, in which March 25 is simply listed as the established date for commemorating the anniversary of the Revolution.

The historical events

March 25th, the feast of the Annunciation for the Orthodox, was set by Alexander Ypsilantis as the starting day of the revolution "as the herald of the political redemption of the Greek nation". The prelates of Peloponnese gathered at the meeting of Vostitsa considered as alternative dates for declaring the Revolution April 23 and May 21, the feasts of Saint George and Saints Constantine and Helen respectively, in case they had not been informed of Russia's intentions, but they ended up in March 25, unless they received an invitation to go to Tripolitsa.

On March 10 or 13, an important meeting was held in Agia Lavra, in the presence of the Metropolitan of Old Patras Germanos, and decisions were made regarding the recruitment of fighters. According to some scholars, after the 15th or 16th of March, none of the leaders of the region of Achaia seem to have been in the monastery anymore, as Germanos and Zaimis went to Nezera and the rest each to his district. This is also the reason why the envoy of the Turks, Nikolaos Georgakopoulos or Mothonios, did not find the provosts in the monastery. Ioannis Kolokotronis reports that on March 19 a meeting was held in Agia Lavra and then they fled to safe places. On the same day, according to some testimonies, those gathered in Agia Lavra sent a message to Petrobeis Mavromichalis informing him of the start of the fight. The message was written with secret code of the Philiki Etairia and was saying: “Your Excellency A.M. Yesterday (March 18) the coronation was performed and at least for your knowledge. N. Christodoulou Soliotis - A. Skaltsas". The scholar of the Revolution G. Anapliotis notes that sources do not say exactly when the high priests and provosts left Agia Lavra. He republishes a letter from Bishop Kernikis Prokopios and Asimakis Zaimis, I. Papadopoulos et al. from Kalavryta on March 23, to the abbot and monks of Agia Lavra, concluding that on this day the influential prelates were gathered in Kalavryta. The distance of the Monastery from the town of Kalavryta is 5 kilometers.

According to the account of Germanos of Old Patras in his memoirs, in order to avoid going to Tripoli, where he had been invited by the Ottoman administration, and because of the suspicions of the Muslims of Patras, he left the city on Orthodox Sunday, February 27, with the destination ostensibly Tripoli, but fled to Kalavryta, where he met with Andreas Londos and they forged letters, on the basis of which, when they were betrayed on their way to Tripoli on March 4, they refused to continue their march, pretending to fear for their lives. According to Germanos, the next day they went to the monastery of Agia Lavra where after a meeting they decided not to give any reason, but to stay aside until they see how the case will develop: if the Ottoman administration pursues them, to leave the Peloponnese, so as not to put the rest of the Greeks in danger, while, if the Ottoman authorities take generalized violent measures against the Greeks, then they will necessarily have to take armed action. When an emissary was sent to them by the Ottoman agades of Tripoli to persuade them to go to Tripoli, after a meeting they decided "as they were frightened to withdraw to safe places" and separated, Germanos with the bishop of Kernikis Procopios and Andreas Zaimis headed for Nezera , Asimakis Zaimis with Fotila in Kerpini and Sotiris Charalambis with Sotiris Theocharopoulos in Zarouchla. According to Germanos' account, when on March 21 the Muslims of Patras attacked the Greeks, Nikolaos Londos, Ioannis Papadiamantopoulos and other people of Patras sent a letter to Germanos, who was in Nezera, asking him to help the city that was in danger.

Germanos and Zaimis called the Koumanian captains to help them and the next day they entered Patras at the head of 500 armed men and the siege of the castle of Patras by the rebel Greeks began.

Based on what is mentioned in the memoirs of Germanos, the majority of historians maintain that at the meeting of the beginning of March in Agia Lavra, no decision was made regarding the start of the revolution. Other historians argue the opposite, based on testimonies from family records of fighters of the 21st, which state that on March 17, the feast day of Saint Alexios, patron saint of Kalavryta, a eulogy was performed and the fighters were sworn in.

The revolutionary effervescence of those days was so great that it was now dangerous to postpone the rebellion. From March 14 to 20, attacks against Muslims took place in various areas of the Peloponnese, partly with the aim of alleviating the hesitations of some pre-eligible ones. On March 21, 600 men attacked the towers of the Muslims from kalavryta, who surrendered after a short resistance. Despite the fact that the surrender was made on the condition of the safety of the Muslims a total of about three hundred inhabitants were forcibly captured, according to the French officer Maxim Rimbaud until the following August the greater part of the men were executed, while the women and children were given as servants in the homes of Greeks, a distinct case was Arnaoutoglou from Kalavryta, a representative of wealthy Muslim families of Moria who was released in a prisoner exchange in the year 1825. On March 22, 2,000 armed men led by Kolokotronis moved towards Kalamata and the next morning they entered the city. At noon a doxology was performed in the church of the Holy Apostles. The doxology was a customary ceremony after every success of the rebels. After the eulogy, a revolutionary committee was formed, the "Messinian Senate" led by Petrobeis Mavromichalis. In Aιgio, after the departure of the Turks from the city, a revolutionary flag was raised by Andreas Londos either "on March 23rd at the latest" or, according to others, on March 24th or 25th or possibly also on March 26th. In Patras, the general uprising was expected on March 25, but smaller scale hostilities had begun earlier. On the 23rd there were Turkish attacks against the Greek houses. The Greeks counterattacked and the Turks closed in on the fortress. The next day, prefects and forces from the neighboring villages began to flock to the city, while the frightened Greeks also called the Old Patras Germanos, who came with other people from Kalavryta to help. Germanos of Old Patras also undertook military duties "without neglecting any of his hierarchical duties", he entered Patras either on March 25 according to Ambrosios Franzis and G. Finlay, or on March 22 according to Anastasios Gouda and Sp. Tricup. The entry of Germanos of Old Patras into Patras on March 25 at the head of thousands of armed men is reported to their superiors and the consuls of Sweden-Norway and the Netherlands in Patras. The first mentions that Germanos and other dignitaries "appeared again" (on 3/25). The consul of the Netherlands reports that on the same day the revolutionaries carved a cross in the square of Ag. Georgiou with the words "Victory or Death". Fr. Pouqueville, copying from the diary of his brother Ygk who was consul at Patras, states that Germanos of Old Patras is expected at Patras on the evening of March 25. G. Finlay mentions that on April 6 (March 25 with the Old Calendar) Germanos of Old Patras at the head of many chieftains and armed men enters Patras. A group of men presents to their leader the heads of five Turks who had been killed in Vostitsa (Aigio). The next morning (March 26) Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Germanos of Old Patras. All the assembled Greeks swore to liberate their homeland or die. John Philemon in his Historical Essay also mentions that Germanos of Old Patras entered Patras on March 24 and planted the Cross in the square of Agios Georgios, which everyone embraced with complete reverence, swearing freedom or death. There is a similar reference in the work of Karl Mendelssohn-Bartholdy entitled History of Greece from the Fall of Constantinople under the Turks in 1453 to the present day, translated by Angelos Vlachos, in 1873, according to which the German set up the flag of the cross in Patras on April 4, 1821, (with the new calendar, as it was in force in 1873). Germanos of Old Patras also in this case does not mention anything relevant about these events in his memoirs.

It has been suggested that he didn't do it perhaps so he wouldn't be seen as a religious fanatic or because he didn't think it was important. This has led some historians, who generally question the role of the upper clergy in the Revolution, to question the role of Germanos of Old Patras not only in Agia Lavra but also in Patras.

In a letter from Ludovicos Stranis, consul of the King of Sweden and Norway in Patras, to Knight, ambassador of that King in Constantinople dated April 8/March 27, 1821:

"The archbishop of this province [Germanos of Old Patras], that of Kalavryta and three prominent ones, who had refused to go to Tripoli, where they had been summoned by the government, appeared again the day before yesterday, and now they are in the city and are managing things."

Thus, on March 25, the revolution had already become widespread in the Peloponnese. The news about the start of the Revolution in Kalavryta was brought to Hydra on March 27, 1821 by Panagiotakis Vafiopoulos, who had been sent by ship to the Peloponnese coast to monitor the events. Also on March 25, Petrobeis, with his letters to the kings of Europe, announced the start of the Revolution and asked for their help. The 25th of March is mentioned as the day of the explosion of the Revolution in the Peloponnese, "in the province of Kalavryta, where first Petimezaioi, Andreas Zaimis, Sot. Charalambis, Anagn. Striftomolas and Nick. Soliotis, weapons were launched ...".

Non-academic historians, such as Sarandos Kargakos and Dionysios Mavrogiannis, consider that the doxology of Agia Laura was indeed performed. Kargakos considers it self-evident that on March 25 there was a solemn doxology at the Monastery of Agia Lavra which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and during which, as is customary, church banners are raised. However, he believes that if there was a despot in the doxology, it should have been the bishop of Kernikis and Kalavryton, Procopios, while Mavrogiannis maintains that the doxology was performed by Germanos of Old Patras.

The Turkish historian Ali Fuat Örenç mentions "6^th Nisan " (April 6, new calendar) as the day of proclamation of the Revolution.

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