Inscribed fragment of a small column

This is a fragment of a small column, that bears the inscription: BOUNDARIES OF THE SAINT AND HONOURED APOSTLE AND THEOLOGIAN JOHN. The inscription refers to the geographical restrictions of laymen inhabitants of Patmos. When the imperial chrysobull of Alexios I Comnenos was drawn up in 1088, Hosios Christodoulos -with the desire to preserve the holy character of the island- insisted on including a regulation concerning the prohibition of habitation by married laymen. However, the extensive construction programme of the monastery complex impelled the modification of this regulation. As a result, married laymen came to the island with their families. They were restricted in the northern part of the island and had to abide by specific rules regarding their working hours and their movement. If a worker's wife or daughter went out of the limits of the laymen's settlement, all the family had to leave from Patmos regardless of the importance of its services towards the Monastery. Accordingly, there were penalties (though less severe) for the monks that visited the houses of lay people.