The Holy Monastery of Agios Dionysios is located on the southwest side of the peninsula between the monasteries of Gregorios and Agios Pavlos. It is built on a steep seaside cliff 80 meters above sea level, next to the so-called “airplane”, (big downhill), in the form of a castle tower
The monastery was founded in the 14th century by Saint Dionysius of Korisos, and it was named after him. One of the benefactors of the Monastery of Agios Dionysios was the emperor Alexios III Komnenos, who apart from acknowledging the foundation of the monastery also ratified the payment of an amount for its construction, and also set a significant annual subsidy for the renaming of the Monastery to his Monastery Grand Komnenos. Among the greatest benefactors of the monastery are also the Palaiologi emperors Ioannis and Konstantinos.
The Dionysi monastery has seven members and its delegation in Karyes, Agios Stefanos. Five of the seven cells of the monastery of Dionysios are Karyes, among them the Genesios of the Virgin Mary, in the square of the Protatus. On the outskirts of the Karyes is the historic 15th Century Evangelismos Theotokos cell. A total of 18 monks live in her cells. It also has a seat attached to the monastery. Just a short distance from the monastery of Dionysios, there is the seat of the Holy Apostles, in which the monk Theoklitos Dionysiatis lived.
The monastery celebrates the birth of John the Baptist on June 24th. The Catholic carries 16th century frescoes by the painter Tzortzis of the Cretan School and is dedicated to the birth of John the Baptist (June 24th).
There are 1100 manuscripts, 27-30 scrolls, 126 handwritten parchment codes, 11 handwritten codeboards, 661 handwritten paper codes, 45 archetypes and antiquities, 5,000 texts and several 16th century dictionaries. There is also the extraordinary miniaturized golden tree of Alexios, which confirms the founding of the Monastery, the 13th-century Quartet, covered with wood carvings.
The relics of the Holy Monastery of Agios Dionysios include the silver-gold recess of the relics of Patriarch Niphon of Peloponnesus, the right hand of St. John the Baptist, St. John the Merciful, Evangelist Loukas and others. Among the sacred heirlooms is a piece of the iron chain that had tied Apostle Peter when he was imprisoned in Rome. The most important icon of the Monastery is the Virgin of Akathistos, which is located in the chapel of Akathistos and is attributed to the Evangelist Luke.
Today the monastery has a community of around 50 monks.
