Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Pisoderi
Set within the forest, at a site known as Eikona, 4 kilometers outside Pisoderi, stands the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, one of the most important monuments of the modern history of Prespa. The katholikon, a single-aisled domed church, is allegedly dated to 1050 (as indicated by a stone inscription above the western entrance), although more recent research places its construction much later, around the 18th century. What is certain, however, is that in the centuries that followed, the monastery acquired a particular historical significance: from 1850 to 1870 it housed a Clerical Teachers’ School, while in 1867 the New Filiki Etaireia was founded here in preparation for the Macedonian Struggle (1903–1908). During that time, the monastery served as a base for guerrilla bands, before being burned down in 1905 by Bulgarian Komitadji. Today, the katholikon, the ruins of the monks’ cells and the bell tower, as well as part of the complex’s gateway, preserve the memory of a place that stood at the crossroads of faith, education, and struggles for freedom.
