Holy Monastery of St John the Forerunner of Naoussa
About Holy Monastery of St John the Forerunner of Naoussa in Veria
The Holy Monastery of St John the Forerunner of Naoussa lies in a wooded setting on the eastern slopes of Mount Vermio, about four kilometres north of Naoussa toward Giannakochori. It is a women’s monastery of the Holy Metropolis of Veria, Naoussa and Kampania.
Local tradition links the house with the wider spiritual life of Naoussa and with earlier ties to the Skete of the Forerunner near Veria. The monastery endured destruction in the upheavals of 1822 and later conflicts, then stood largely quiet until its reconstitution as a women’s community in the mid-1990s. The feast of the Beheading of St John (29 August) is its main celebration; a wonderworking icon of the Forerunner returned to the monastery in 1996.
Visits are normally by arrangement. Call ahead or ask the Metropolis for current opening practice, and dress modestly. The short drive from Naoussa makes it an easy half-day pilgrimage combined with the town’s other shrines.
Religious Affiliation
Christian
