Looking from afar, the monastery seems hidden inside the cave, while the few trees cover most of the small church. Only the dome of the church with its narrow windows stands out under the edge of the rock.

The history of the monastery is mixed with many traditions. It is said that in the middle of the 12th century, the image of the birth of the Virgin Mary was miraculously found by local herders at the bottom of the cave. Thus the pious inhabitants of the area built the first small church. Another tradition mentions that the icon of the Virgin Mary was moved there, to protect it during the period of the Iconoclasm from the village of Stana, from which the monastery took the nickname of Stana. Another tradition states that its name comes from the stables of the cattle breeders that used to exist in the surrounding area.

The church seems to be a building of the 15th or 16th century, when the area was densely populated, due to the settlement of the Turks in Thessaly and the other lowlands. At that time, Evrytania, and especially the region of Agrafa, had many thousands of inhabitants, rich animal husbandry and a developed industry. This is proven by the number of churches that existed in every village, by the monasteries and the famous Schools of Agrafos, which flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries. with famous teachers.

Source [quote]
Holy Monastery of Stana
Holy Metropolis of Karpenisi | imkarpenisiou.gr