Monastery St. Archangel Michail and The Holy Spring
Monastery Saint Arcahngel is located 15km far from Potos, on the cliff,which has fantastic view of the sea and Athos. This monastery was very important for history of Thassos and I think it deserves to write a little about it.

The monastery is significant primarily because of the holy pin of Christ's hand from the crucifixion that is kept in it, as well as because of the source of sacred water that has healing power. Thousands of pilgrims are coming to Thassos to worship St. Archangel Michael.

At the end of the 11th century, monk Luke, lived in a single family life in a village in central Thassos. Here, he built a chapel dedicated to St. John Bogoslov (Theolog) and the village got the name Theologos.

In time, he felt bothered by the daily meeting with the locals of Teologos village, and after 14 years in Theologos, he decided to isolate himself and move to an uninhabited area on the southeast side of the island. There he built a small chapel with a dome that still exists.

After a few years, he went further to the west and settled near the place where the monastery is now located.

After twenty years spent in this "desert", Sv. Archangel Michael told him that in three years God would take Him to Himself. Since Luke suspected that Archangel himself was in front of him, to be assured by Sv. Archangel, he banged his stick in the rock and the holy water flowed out of it. He told him to raise a church in that place in order to treat the people, both spiritually and physically.

From that day onwards, those who are sick were looking for a medicine. After the death of the monk, his student Xenophont remained in the monastery, who soon realized that he could not manage the monastery himself, so he decided to move to the Holy Mountain at the monastery of Philoteus. It was then decided that the monastery of St. Archangel joins the monastery of Philotheus, and thus belongs to him today. That is why celebrations are celebrated in the monastery along the old calendar as well as in Serbia.

When the Turks occupied Thassos in 1453, they didn't like that the monastery of St. The Archangel is respected so much (believers from all over Byzantium were coming) so they decided to do something to prevent it. One Turk came to the spring and destroyed it. He fell dead at the same moment, but the spring was dry. As the sick continued to come to the spring for healing and waited for the water to stream again, the Saint Archangel reported to the priest Dimitris and said that there was a cave beneath the church and that the believers can enter it, found the spring and be cured.

Even today there is a spring in the cave. It is located below the church and is led by a long walkway, a tunnel that is very narrow and low, that you must come on the knees to the spring. They say that the spring cures the sick who with faith on their knees come to it and to wash their face. Rare are the tourists who go to the spring, and I have met our people who think that thanks to this spring and Sv. Archangel Michael they have children.

The beginning of the path to the spring is located near the parking lot, before the large gate to enter the monastery. There is a gate that is usually closed, but you can open it yourself or if you fail to call the nun to help you. The downhill to the spring is hard, and the path is very steep so you go down at your own risk. Somewhere at the beginning of the road is a notice that the road to the spring is not safe and this should be taken into account. Sneakers are required. It takes about an hour from the monastery to the spring, which is enough if you take into account the high temperatures during the summer.

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