The Monastery of Agios Andreas was founded in 1587 by Countess Roxani. An image of St. Andrew was found under an apple tree and so the monastery got its name from the tree. It is located right next to the museum of Agios Andreas and visitors are amazed by its treasures and beauty.
The monastery was founded during the Byzantine era and was re-established in 1579 when three local spiritual sisters Benedict, Leontia and Magdalene bought the land where the chapel of the Apostle Andrew was once located and founded a small nunnery.
In 1639 the Greek-Romanian princess Roxane, who was renamed the nun Romila, began her monastic life. The rich princess dedicated a large sum of money to the monastery and brought a valuable spiritual treasure from Mount Athos. This was the holy relic of the right foot (sole) of the Apostle Andrew, with the hole from the crucifixion of the Saint.
The monastery also has an ecclesiastical Byzantine museum founded in 1988 and located in the old church which was the only building preserved from the earthquake of 1953. The art treasures found there date between 1300-1900 AD.
Apart from the existing frescoes and icons found in the monastery, others have been transferred to the museum from abandoned churches throughout Kefalonia.
During the British rule in the early 19th century, there was a conflict between the monks and the British who temporarily stopped the divine services in the Monastery and covered their beautiful asbestos murals in 1832, because the Monastery – a Greek Orthodox focus – had a negative attitude. . against British rule.
Now the treasures of the Monastery and the icons are proudly exhibited and among them is the painting of the nun Romila with her parents.
In the Monastery there are constant solemn vigils and every Sunday a Divine Liturgy is celebrated. The nuns spend the rest of their time making ritual clothes, handicrafts and gardening. The Convent celebrates twice a year – on the Friday after Easter and on November 30, which is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle.
