On a small Greek Island in the Aegean Sea
is the island of Patmos.
(about 24 miles from Western Turkey)
It is mentioned one time in Scripture- Revelations 1:9.
The Apostle John was exiled here
by the Roman Emperor Domitian.
On this isolated island is where John received the words
from Jesus to the seven churches
and the visions recorded in the Book of Revelation.
In the New Testament times Patmos
was a place of Roman exile
where criminals and political prisoners were sent.
They were guarded by soldiers to prevent escape,
but had freedom on the island.
They had to find their own food and shelter.
It is believed that John's friends in Ephesus helped
to provide him with food and other supplies during his exile.
He was here for one to three years.
After the death of Domitian in AD 96,
John's banishment was lifted
under the reign of his successor, Nerva.
John then returned to Ephesus.
The Holy Monastery of Saint John the theologian
was founded by the Greek Orthodox in 1088.
It is a massive fortress like set of buildings
on a hilltop in Chora.
Paintings in the courtyard of the monastery.
The entrance to the Cave of the Apocalypse.
It is about halfway up the mountain along the road
from the villages of Chora and Skala.
We have visited this site numerous times
and the crowds are always different.
It depends on your turn to get to
the tenders of the cruise ship and on to the island.
The Cave of the Apocalypse is the sacred grotto
when Apostle John is believed to have received the visions
that form the Book of Revelation.
(but you can find photos with an internet search)
It became a World Heritage site in 1999.
The library here has about 330 manuscripts.
As of 2012, there were still 40 monks living here.
There can be many pilgrims here
and on one visit the line was too long for us
to stay to visit the Cave.
About 3,300 people live on the island today.
