The Cave Monastery in Sarakinista, Gjirokastër, which is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and is classified as a cultural monument in Albania, has not been precisely established when it was built. However, from some surviving inscriptions, one can conclude that it was founded either in 1613 or 1634.
Currently, the Albanian Institute of Cultural Heritage is carrying out conservation interventions on the hagiographies of the monastery's catholicon, a project funded by the Albanian Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports.
The interventions mainly concern the preparatory layers and their consolidation, the covering of cracks and the cleaning of the iconographic surfaces.
The iconography is the work of the distinguished 17th century iconographer Michael Linotopis and is of particular value. Among others, the full-length icons of the prophets Isaiah, Habakkuk, Daniel, Moses, Solomon, Ezekiel and Jeremiah are depicted holding scrolls with excerpts from their prophecies.
From 1647, when it was granted the title by Patriarch Kirill, until 1927, it was a Stavropegic Monastery. Its property consisted of animals, land and two watermills. Around 1900 and possibly earlier, Turkish-Albanian beys encroached on a large part of the Monastery's property, mainly its fields and the watermills.
Other churches and monasteries in Albania also need renovation and maintenance, despite the enormous work done in this area by the late Archbishop Anastasios. In particular, hagiographies that have been damaged mainly by abandonment and alteration during the years of atheism need restoration.
From a spiritual point of view, the iconographies in Orthodox churches that were saved in neighboring Albania are yet another proof of the triumph of faith. A triumph that was based on the struggles for the prevalence of the truth of Christ, on the struggles for the prevalence of Christian life.
And the struggles of the Christian life are based on a pure heart and purity of intentions. But the icons and the paintings are also a way to see our Lord more closely, to experience the peace that He grants, the joy that He gives.
