Pachomios, the ambitious superior who founded the monastery, managed to amass great wealth by advising and providing all kinds of political and other services to the Despots of Mystras, therefore the most prosperous institution of the castle town only took twenty years to complete. The structure incorporates two churches, famous among the circles of orthodox Christianity: the church of Agii Theodori and the church of Panagia Odigitria, commonly known as the "Afentiko".
The church of Agii Theodori was completedin just five years(1290 1295);it was restored in 1932 by the renowned architect, archaeologist and scholar Anastasios Orlandos. It is perhaps the last fine example of the grand style it represents the cruciform octagonal church topped with an impressive dome. Other such churches include that of Osios Loukas in Boeotia, the Monastery of Daphni and Agia Sophia in the nearby town of Monemvasia. Of the paintings once adorning the walls, only a few soldier saints have survived. Among the rest of the monuments within the church and its courtyard, one of the tombs is of particular interest; it belongs to some "Manuel Palaiologos", probably one of the emissaries from Constantinople visiting Mystras on the occasion of the coronation of Constantine as the Byzantine emperor.
After this church was completed, almost twenty years passed before the one known to everyone as Afentiko (freely translated as "belonging to the ruler"), namely Panagia Odigitria (Our Lady of Guidance), was built as the second, majestic instalment of the monastery. For Pachomios, it signalled the fulfilment of his original ambition to erect a monument of unparalleled size and beauty, that would elaborately reflect his power and importance. Annexed chapels at the four edges of the building, in the form of small towers, decorated the north and the west side of the church with their porticos, now long destroyed. Porticos were popular architectural elements throughout the structures build on the hill of Myzithras (an older, longer, more popular name for Mystras). What will definitely attract the visitor's attention, even at their present state, is the lavish nature of the paintings. The "Renaissance" thought to have taken place over the time of the Palaiologos dynasty is clearly reflected in the fluidity of movement, the elegance of posture, the vivid colours on garments and surroundings alike.
