About Cave of the Apocalypse

Apostle John was said to have lived in exile on Patmos in the 1^st century AD and to have received the revelation of God in the sacred Cave of the Apocalypse. John recorded his visions in the Book of Revelation. He made the cave his home during his exile by the Roman Emperor Domitian.

The Cave

The cave is 6.6m long and 5.5m wide and has been encased within a sanctuary and the Monastery of the Apocalypse. The cave entrance is marked with a mosaic portraying the visions of John. The interior of the cave is illuminated with simple candles and decorated with paintings and ancient icons.

Interior Features

Inside the cave, the rock used to protect John from the weather is ragged with three fissures that symbolize the Holy Trinity. The cave has a few niches in the stone from where John rested his head and another from his hand. Seven silver lamps have been hung in the cave of which the largest is above the place where John slept using a rock as a pillow that still exists in the cave.