The monastery was founded in 1088 at Chora on Patmos. Emperor Alexios I Komnenos gave the island to the monk Christodoulos, who completed the greater part of the monastery about three years later. He heavily fortified the exterior because of piracy and Seljuk Turk threats, and the surrounding Chora community grew up around the fortifications.
The katholikon, one of the oldest parts, dates from the 11th century along with the refectory. It follows the Byzantine domed cross-in-square style, with an opus sectile marble floor and medieval paintings and frescoes. A two-story arcade on the south side was built in 1698. The article gives no dimensions.
The library holds at least 330 manuscripts, 267 on parchment, including 82 New Testament manuscripts. UNESCO listed the monastery in 1999 together with Chora and the Cave of the Apocalypse. The article says 40 monks lived there as of 2012, a claim tagged as needing a citation.
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