Monastery of the Transfiguration, Kinaliada: A Byzantine Greek Orthodox Monastery
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Turkey
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Byzantine
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Monastery
On this page8 sections
History
The Monastery of the Transfiguration, Kinaliada, is a Greek Orthodox monastery in Türkiye that has served the Greek Orthodox community of Constantinople, modern Istanbul, since the Byzantine period. Built in the late eleventh century, probably during the 1070s or 1080s, it was dedicated to the Transfiguration of Jesus and became associated with the confinement and burial of Byzantine emperors.
Imperial Exiles in the Eleventh Century
The monastery is generally considered to have been built for Romanos IV Diogenes, who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1068 to 1071. After his defeat at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, a major Byzantine-Seljuk military confrontation, Romanos was blinded, deposed, and exiled to Proti, the island now known as Kınalıada. He spent the remainder of his life at the monastery and died from septicemia caused by his wounds. His body is believed to have been buried on the island near the present Armenian orphanage.
The monastery was also associated with Nikephoros III Botaneiates, who ruled from 1078 to 1081. After being forced to abdicate, he was confined there. These events gave the monastery a particular connection with the relegation of deposed Byzantine emperors during the eleventh century. It is also traditionally linked with the burial of Leo V the Armenian, a Byzantine emperor who ruled from 813 to 820, after his exile to the Prince Islands.
Rebuilding and Destruction
The monastery was demolished and rebuilt repeatedly. Following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, it fell into ruin. In 1722, wealthy Greek merchants from Chios who were based in Constantinople undertook a major reconstruction. They built a new principal monastery church, known in Orthodox tradition as a katholikon, together with a side chapel dedicated to Saint Paraskevi above the original Byzantine monastery. Icons from the earlier monastery were transferred to the Greek Orthodox Church of Constantinople for preservation.
During the Anglo-Turkish War in 1807, Admiral Duckworth ordered the monastery bombarded after learning that Ottoman troops had taken refuge there while his fleet was anchored at Kınalı to obtain water. The monastery was completely destroyed. It was refounded around the middle of the nineteenth century by Simon Sinosoğlu.
Community and Land Dispute
The monastery remains under the administration of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and continues to be dedicated to the Transfiguration of Jesus. In July 1998, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I expressed concern about the alleged deprivation or expropriation of land belonging to the monastery. Turkish authorities maintained that the monastery was entitled to the building itself but not to the surrounding land. The complex also served as a camping ground and summer holiday house for children. The northern bay of Kınalıada is known as Manastır Bay because of its association with the monastery.
Remains
The surviving monastery complex occupies one of Kınalıada’s highest elevations, a 93-metre summit called Hristo Peak. The peak takes its name from Hristo, or Christ Monastery, a local name for the institution. Kınalıada is one of the Prince Islands in the Sea of Marmara. The present remains combine the monastery church and later structures built over the earlier Byzantine foundation.
Monastery Church
The monastery church forms the principal surviving building of the complex. It contains several icons and an iconostasis made of dark wood. The church and the monastery are dedicated to the Transfiguration of Jesus, while the rebuilding of 1722 also established the katholikon as the main church of the Orthodox monastery.
Saint Paraskevi Chapel
A side chapel dedicated to Saint Paraskevi was added during the 1722 reconstruction. It was built above the original Byzantine monastery, linking the later eighteenth-century complex physically with the earlier foundation. Saint Paraskevi is particularly venerated in Eastern Orthodox traditions.
Byzantine Remains and Memorial
Limited remains of the Byzantine structure survive, including a large capital. Beside the monastery church stands a bust of Simon Sinosoğlu, who refounded the monastery around the middle of the nineteenth century.
