Welcome to Panagia Gorgoepikoos Monastery

+

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
The Monastery is closed between Monday and Friday and is open to pilgrims on weekends.

Our Monastery continues to support you all with prayers and counselling, especially through these difficult times.

You may phone or click here to send us your prayer requests; your names will be commemorated during our prayers and services.

You may visit the Monastery’s bookstore at weekends, or alternatively, place an order online, bookings are not necessary to attend.
Please refer to our Monastery Program for opening hours.

We will be answering the phone on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between 10 am and 12 midday. Outside these times you may leave a message with your prayer or bookshop requests.

We humbly ask you to remember us in your prayers.

Your love and support are greatly appreciated.

May Panagia, who is Quick to Hear, protect and guide us all.

+ Panagia Gorgoepikoos Monastery

Donate

About Our Monastery

The Holy Monastery of Panagia Gorgoepikoos ("She who is Quick to Hear") is a monastic community under the spiritual and ecclesiastical leadership of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, within the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The Holy Monastery of Panagia Gorgoepikoos is situated in Lovely Banks, Geelong in Victoria, and serves the Orthodox community Australia-wide. Whilst the Monastery holds regular services for its pilgrims, we are not open to the general public.

Our mission is to provide for the spiritual needs of all those who seek to know the Truth.

The Monastery Sisterhood and pilgrims extend our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to our spiritual leader, Archbishop Makarios of Australia, for his compassion and understanding of the spiritual benefit to his flock, in assigning an Archdiocesan Priest to our Monastery.

History of Panagia Gorgoepikoos Icon

One of the miraculous icons of the Holy Mountain is an ancient wall-painting of Panagia Gorgoepikoos. It is located at Docheiariou Monastery. In 1664, the monk Neilos, who used to pass regularly in front of the icon holding in his hand a lighted torch which he needed for his duties in the refectory, heard a voice telling him: “Do not come past here with a torch, leaving smoke on my icon”. Neilos did not pay much attention to the voice, but it was soon heard again. Then a punishment was given to the monk, and he became blind. The brethren began to show great reverence in passing before the icon and hung a perpetual lamp before it and burnt incense before the icon every day.

The blind Neilos spent all his time in front of the icon, imploring the Theotokos to forgive him and heal him, and his prayer was granted when, for the third time, a voice was heard from the icon. The Theotokos told Neilos that his supplication had been heard, he was forgiven and he received his sight as before.

Henceforth, all faithful who flee to Gorgoepikoos are heard as she promised “Let the monks flee to me for their every need and I will quickly hear them and all Orthodox Christians who flee to me with reverence for I am called ‘Quick to Hear’”.