On the eastern slope of Mount Vesis or Titan, at an altitude of 1050 meters, amidst rich forests of black pine and fir, next to the Kryoneri stream where the Elissonas springs from, stands the Holy Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin in Lehova, built 800 years ago. This legendary monastery, constructed between the 11th and 12th centuries AD, was built in a sacred area since antiquity.

Very close to it lies the cave of Lehova, where recent excavations unearthed numerous artifacts, primarily ceramic fragments and a wide variety of clay figurine types, indicating religious use of the site from the mid-6th century BC to the early 4th century BC. These findings include samples from Attic, Corinthian, and Sikyonian workshops. The place is magical: its waters, plane trees, rustling leaves, and the murmurs of springs create mythical associations in the mind of the visitor, with fairies, nymphs, and other ethereal beings of incomparable Corinthian nature.

The name “Lehova,” which is commonly believed to be of Slavic origin, provides the primary element of the area’s distinct beauty: in the Slavic language, “lecha” means meadow or field. Therefore, Lehova translates to a place of meadows. The monastery and its beautiful, warm, and well-maintained church await hospitably to welcome every visitor to their courtyard. Their orchards with all kinds of fruits, small well-kept fruit trees with stone steps, set against the rich fir forest of Vesis, make everyone ponder whether paradise does exist on earth after all! The view towards the Corinthian Gulf is magnificent, interrupted only by the dense foliage of the plane trees, while directly in front of the monastery begins the path that ascends to the fir forest.

The Holy Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin in Lehova, aside from its magnificent natural landscape, offers the visitor a unique Byzantine monument, the old church recently restored. The church is cruciform with an octagonal dome and sculpted architectural elements from the same period. In very good condition, its wonderful mosaic floor survives with symbolic and geometric representations. A spiritual treasure of the monastery is the miraculous icon of the Virgin of the Passion or the Immaculate, a work from the early 1700s by the Zakinthian iconographer Theod. Papandonis or Georganas, considered miraculous. The Church of Lehova has been declared an archaeological monument of preservation by the Ministry of Culture.

During the last century of Turkish rule, the monastery of Lehova evolved into a significant religious center of Corinthia, mentioned in chronicles such as those of Caisarios Dapontes, who notes: “Also the great Lehovissa monastery, in the village of Lehova of Corinth, as the other.” During the Greek Revolution, the monastery became a refuge for the residents of the wider area and a rallying point for local leaders. Gennaios Kolokotronis in his memoirs refers to the Monastery, and records exist of its contribution of all kinds of supplies to the hospital organized at the Holy Monastery of Polyfegos in Nemea, by order of Theodoros Kolokotronis.

In the General State Archives there is a document from King Otto in July 1836 approving a loan of 722.60 drachmas for repair work at the Monastery. Few manuscripts or documents are preserved in the monastery library. Time’s decay, the historical adventures of the monastery, and a recent fire (1927) deprived us of a better image of its spiritual wealth. No patriarchal sigils were found to provide information about the founder or the privileges and rights of the Monastery. However, the surviving documents in the Monastery Archive and various publications of the 19th and 20th centuries provide characteristic information about the life and activities of its monks, unique in historical importance and real value.

The monastery celebrates annually on August 15th, and a crowd gathers in its courtyard to worship the miraculous icon of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, followed by a feast and food offered by the Holy Monastery to all visitors.