Vazelon Manastırı
- Tür: Kilise ve Manastır
- Yüzyıl: 3. yy
- Bölge: Türkiye, Karadeniz Bölgesi, Trabzon, Maçka
 Vazelon Monastery in 2014 | |
  Location within Turkey | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Monastery of Saint John Vazelon |
| Other names | St. John Prodromos Monastery[1] |
| Established | c. 270–317 |
| Disestablished | 1923 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Ruins |
| Site | |
| Location | Maçka district, Trabzon Province, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 40°46′N 39°32′E / 40.76°N 39.53°E |
| Visible remains | Chapels, three stories of rooms, some frescoes[2][3] |
Vazelon Monastery (Greek: Μονή Βαζελώνος, romanized: Moni Vazelonos[4]) is a ruin located in the Black Sea region of Turkey.[5] It was built in 270[6] and is 40 km (25 mi) south of Trabzon. Justinian I, a ruler of the Byzantine Empire, ordered the monastery to be repaired in 565, and it was renovated multiple times until the 20th century. The current structures date from the rebuilding in 1410.[2]
Vazelon Monastery was a center of Greek Orthodox life in the Matzouka/Maçka area,[a] retaining some control over surrounding villages until its disestablishment. Frescoes on the north outer walls of the church that depict Heaven, Hell and the Last Judgement have remained for centuries.[7]
The monastery was attacked multiple times throughout its history. In the 500s, Sassanid Persian invaders raided the monastery and destroyed parts of it. They also killed the resident monks.[8] Years later, during World War I, Turkish forces attacked the monastery.[9] Vazelon was abandoned in 1923 following the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.[10] Vandalism has contributed to the monastery's dilapidated state.[11]
Few items remain from the Vazelon's archive. Some documents are now located at the Leningrad Museum, while others are kept by the Turkish Historical Society (TTK).[1] Historians have used these documents to learn about life in the Byzantine Empire and the Empire of Trebizond.
- ^ a b Saint-Guillain & Herrin 2016, p. 86.
- ^ a b "Trabzon travel guide". karalahana.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
artswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ A. Papadopoulos (1885). "Paleographic Researches in the City and in the Countries of Pontus". Syngramma Periodikon (in Greek). 16. Hellenic Philological Society of Constantinople: 8.
- ^ Yücel 1989, p. 3.
- ^ Hionides 1996, pp. 79–80.
- ^ "Trabzon". T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı (in Turkish). Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021.
- ^ "The Monastery of Saint John Vazelon". Pontos World. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020.
- ^ Morris & Ze'evi 2019, p. 389.
- ^ Demciuc & Köse 2014, p. 261.
- ^ Darke 2014, p. 401.
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