Cave of the Apocalypse

The Cave of the Apocalypse, also called the Sacred Grotto, is a small grotto on the hillside between Skala and Chora on Patmos, and it is the place where, according to Christian tradition, Saint John the Divine received the visions that form the Book of Revelation. John is said to have been exiled to Patmos by the Roman authorities toward the end of the first century, and he lived in the cave while dictating his text to his disciple Prochorus. Now a chapel complex of the Greek Orthodox Church, it forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designated in 1999 together with the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Chora. The monastery's name for John, the Theologian, is the one used in Greek liturgy.

The entrance buildings belong to a small monastery. Reaching the cave means walking down a flight of steps from the road. At the bottom is a small whitewashed complex with a chapel of Saint Anne, through which the entrance leads into the sacred grotto itself. The cave is low, quiet and dimly lit, and the rock ceiling carries a triple fissure that Orthodox believers regard as the place where the voice of God was heard, with three cracks standing for the Trinity. Nearby, a recess in the wall is said to have been where John rested his head, and a ledge is identified as his writing surface.

Inside, icons, lamps and carved wooden fittings fill the space, and the stone floor has been polished by centuries of pilgrims. The cave is not large, and people move through it slowly, often in silence. Services are held in the grotto on feast days, particularly around the saint's commemoration, and the site remains active as a place of worship rather than as a museum.

The walk from Skala up toward Chora follows an old cobbled path that passes the cave, which makes the visit easy to combine with the monastery higher on the hill. The ruined and rebuilt buildings around the entrance, and the gardens by the steps, give a sense of the monastic community that has long cared for the place. Views from the terrace reach down over the Aegean slopes of the island.

Visitors should dress modestly, speak quietly and follow the instructions of the monks and attendants. Photography rules vary, so ask before taking pictures inside. The grotto is small and gets crowded when excursion groups arrive, so early morning and late afternoon are calmer. A visit generally takes thirty minutes to an hour, longer if you wish to sit in the quiet.