Hosios Loukas: Byzantine Art in Greece

The monastery of Osios Loukas was built in the early 11th century to house the relics of the monk, Blessed Luke who was by then a famous local saint. It soon became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in all Greece. Abbots from the ranks of the aristocracy ensured that the construction and decoration of the "katholikin" (main church), befitted the prestige of the community's founder. The grandeur of the building and its sumptuous decoration indicate the patron's wealth and social standing: the sophistication of the iconographic program indicates their profound theological background.