The monastery is built on top of a rock which rests on an area of 7,500 square meters. It is over Kalambaka, at the southeast edge of the Meteora rocks.

The first hermit to be hosted by the rock, as evidenced by an inscription near the entrance of the monastery in the year 1192 AD., was Jeremiah. This piece of information is also verified by historical researchers.

However, the first possessor of the Monastery was the Archimandrite Anthony around the 16th century. Tradition seems to have associated him with the historical Byzantine family of the Cantacuzene.

The second possessor of the monastery was the monk Philotheus coming from the village Sthlataina or Sklataina (its current name is Rizoma, municipality Paralithaion) in the mid 16^th century. In 1545, Saint Philotheus restored or reconstructed the small church of St. Stephen.

The church is a basilica with a wooden esonarthex separated from the nave with a trivilo opening.

The church was painted in 1545 under Abbot Metrophanes. The Saint Philotheus built cells for the monks, supplied the monastery with church utensils and manuscripts and imposed the coenobitic lifestyle in the convent. In the Narthex, on the left and right side of the entrance, the Saint possessors of the monasteries, monks Anthony and Philotheus, are depicted divinely, accompanied by the archangels Gabriel and Michael. There is also a display of the 24 hymns to Mary. Above the entrance there is an inscription that informs visitors about the murals of the church without providing any dates whatsoever.

In the sanctuary, there is the Lady of the Signs in a niche, as a guardian of Christians and the whole world, the Holy Communion and images of great Hierarchs. The paintings are well cleaned and preserved today.

The second church is dedicated to the Holy Martyr Haralambos and was erected in 1798 under Abbot Ambrose. The church follows the Mount Athos’ architectural type. The main church is four-cruciform, with a roomy esonarthex set before two alcoves on the left and right side, with 4 columns in the center that support the roof. The three slender and lanky domes are quite characteristic. Abbot Constantine from Kalambaka erected the Holy Table of the church in 1857 and other buildings near the Church of St. Stephen. The monastery offered a great lot to education during those troubled times. It constructed the Constantios school in Kalambaka and donated huge sums of money to build schools in Trikala.In the 1970s, there was an Elementary school and an orphanage for girls in the monastery, taught by its nuns.

 The iconostasis is carved and sculpted by artisans from Metsovo in 1814. It comprises themes taken from the vegetable and animal kingdom; syntheses refer to the Last Supper, Saint Dimitrios, Saint Stephen the protomartyr and St. George. The iconostasis’ value is inestimable.

On the outer side of the exonarthex there are three inscriptions. The first one, on the right, alludes to the construction of the monastery by Paisios, Bishop of Stagoi. The second one refers to a prayer of the Bishop of Stagoi. Finally, the third cites the foundation of the iconostasis, and also mentions the pioneers who undertook the project in case.

 The double-headed eagle, carved in a circle, an eternal symbol of the Byzantine Empire is depicted in the centre of the iconostasis.

The Holy relics of Saint Haralambos are stored in the monastery since 1398, when it was donated to the Ruler of Wallachia Vlatislavos. In the past few years the monastery’s icons are being illustrated by the painter Vlassios Tsotsonis, following the standards of other Katholika and traditions in Meteora.

In 1888, there were 31 monks in the monastery and in 1960 it got deserted. Since 1961 the monastery has been converted into a nunnery and is currently prospering. The nuns, under particularly adverse circumstances, managed to organize and ameliorate the building conditions of the monastery. The Coenobitic lifestyle and the so far configured Orthodox rite are systematically adopted.

The monastery’s offer to education and the nation’s constant struggles should also be noted.

Since 1971 an Elementary school – girls’ Boarding School – with 18 students began operating. The monastery’s offer under the care of the teachers - nunsTheognosti Ampelakioti, Theostrati as well as other nuns of the monastery need to be taken into serious consideration. The students were mainly orphan girls, along with destitute children and children coming from families with several members. There, they found the love, the affection and everything else that they had been deprived of due to the aggravating conditions they met with in their lifetimes. It ran until 1977 and approximately 40 students attended it. The nuns presumed that it was important to offer, apart from their spiritual duties, their services to the society.  This is the reason why they offered food, shelter, education, care, affection and love to the orphans of the prefecture of Trikala. We are thus well - reminded of the "The Secret School", in the difficult years our nation had to go through, that kept our nation, our history and our religion alive.

Access to the monastery is achieved easier than access to other monasteries, thanks to an 8 metres’ bridge connecting the monastery’s rock with the hill Koukoula.

In 1991, the monastery was renovated and the new vestry was re-organized so that this monumental wealth could be preserved and highlighted. The design and construction of the new vestry were conducted under the supervision of the architect Sotirios Tzimas.

There is a priceless treasure in the new vestry. The sacred icons gathered by the churches are currently kept in the monastery’s sacristy; their grace is miraculous and they have witnessed the endless struggles towards their protection and restoration.

The most important and oldest incunabula are the works of Aristotle, printed in 1498. There he kept the Swedish dictionary, the dictionary of Varinia Favorinou since the 14^th century.

The record of the incunabula was kept by the nuns. There is a total number of 852 incunabula preserved and divided into categories and sub- categories: theological, literary, literary - historical, philosophical and legal.

In the sacristy there are priestly vestments, epitrachilia, epigonatia and a brocade Epitaph since the year 1857.

There are also liturgical utensils, Holy Glasses, Holy Tabernacles and Holy Spears, forceps, ancillary equipment for the Holy Liturgy, belts and priestly buckles as well as some folk art.

Manuscripts, Bibles, Crosses, Episcopal thrones dating back to the 17th century, Lecterns and coffers of the 17th century are also stored there.

Additionally, there are still 154 manuscripts, four of which are parchments from the 11^th to the 19^th century.

Due to personal devotion and love the nuns took care of the monastery and attended to its preservation and restoration needs of the existent objects and artifacts. Hearty zeal and diligence were displayed at the refinement of the Byzantine tradition and music that is heard throughout the celebrations of the Saints. Workshops running: icons’, calligraphy, decorative, manuscipts’, gold embroidery, sewing, manufacturing incense, candles, and various types of needlework.

Visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios in Meteora Monastery of Saint Stephen  VIDEO