The Panagia Ipseni Monastery is situated in a forested area about 30 miles south of Rhodes Town, near the village of Lardos. Built in 1855 on the ruins of an early Christian basilica, it is a convent currently occupied by 15 nuns, who live very simple lives, growing their own vegetables and maintaining the Monastery.
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The founder of the Monastery was Saint Meletios. Born in Lardos, the story goes that he miraculously found the buried Panagia Ipseni icon after seeing a beam of light emanating from the sky. As he was praying, Panagia Ipseni appeared and asked him to rebuild the monastery and name it after her. Saint Meletios began the rebuilding process in 1839.
As they enter through the heavy wooden door of the main entrance, visitors are greeted with a beautiful stone courtyard, where the Church of the Monastery is located, a building dedicated to Saint Meletios. On the right-hand side of the church, the icon of Panagia Ipseni resides, with many people coming to visit the Monastery just to pray to the icon or to be healed of diseases. The older buildings of the Monastery surround the Church, which today function as places of hospitality for visitors. The Monastery holds celebrations on the 23rd of August, with an after-feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos and on the 12th of February, in memory of Saint Meletios.
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