UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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![]() The entrance to the Apocalypse complex | |
Location | Patmos, Greece |
Part of | The Historic Centre (Chorá) with the Monastery of Saint-John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Island of Pátmos |
Criteria | Cultural: (iii)(iv)(vi) |
Reference | 942 |
Inscription | 1999 (23rd Session) |
Coordinates | 37°18′51.91″N 26°32′40.80″E / 37.3144194°N 26.5446667°E |
The Cave of the Apocalypse (Greek: Σπήλαιο Αποκάλυψης, pronounced [Spilaio Apokalypsis]) is located approximately halfway up the mountain on the Aegean island of Patmos, along the road between the villages of Chóra and Skala. This grotto marks the spot where St. John of Patmos received his visions that he recorded in the Book of Revelation.[1] It became a location of Christian pilgrimage and is recognized as a Greek Orthodox Church to this day.[2] In 1999, UNESCO declared the cave a joint World Heritage Site (together with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian[3] that lies at the highest point on the island), as one of the most sacred sites of Christianity.[4]