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The '''Monastery of St. Patapios''' (also Agios Patapios), is a [[monastery]] for women located 14km (22ft) from Loutraki, Greece at an elevation of some 700m (1120ft) on the Geraneai mountains. The monastery is within the jurisdiction of the [[Metropolis of Korinthos]] which is under of the [[Church of Greece]].
== History ==
At the insistance of Fr. [[Nektarios Kyriakos]], the monastery, which is dedicated to St. [[Patapius of Thebes]] ([[December 8]]), was founded in 1952 by ''Prokopios, Metropolitan Bishop of Korinth'', around the cave where the [[relics]] of Patapius were found in 1904 by Fr. [[Constantine Sosanis]]. The saints relics had been placed beneath tiles and large leaves, to protect his body from the damp, and exuded a sweet odor. On the relic there was a scroll giving Patapius's name, with a large wooden cross and some Byzantine coins.
The cave <ref> The cave measures 8 x 4.5m (13 x 7.1ft)</ref> today has a sanctuary and sacristy hewn out of the rock. It can be found northwest of the [[katholikon]] of the convent and the holy relic is kept in a special wooden structure at the back of the cave. Inside the cave there are also Byzantine wall paintings from the 13th century, with three prominent figures of St. '''Patapius''', St. [[Ipomoni]] ([[April 3]])<ref> Empress Helen Dragash, also known as St. ''Patience'' or ''Agia Hipomoni'', the mother of the last emperor of [[Constantinople]], [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]]</ref> and St. Nikon.
After the founding of the monastery, Sister Patapia was nominated as Mother Superior, with Father [[Nectarios Nektarios Kyriakos]] as its spiritual leader. Today, there are some forty nuns [[nun]]s living in the cells of the foundation and the current Mother Superior is Mother Isidora.
The monastery [[church]] is dedicated to the [[Theotokos|Virgin Mary]] and contains at its center the Mother of God for [[veneration]]. The church also holds the relic skull of St. Ipomoni and part of the hip bone of St. Nikon.