Siresian Monastery of Maretica

View of the monastery in its setting

The Siresian Monastery of Maretica is a monastic complex of the Siresian Order near the village of Mret Iqoi, in western Azmir, Trellin. Built between 1442 and 1486, it was at the time the largest Siresian monastery in Azmir and the first new monastery in the territory since the 1348 establishment of the monastery at Khem under the terms which ended the Azmiri Crusade.

Mret Iqoi, known in Latin as Maretica, is a small village near Marzisa, a town in western Azmir. It was chosen as the site for a Siresian monastery in the 1440s, when no land was available within Marzisa's walls for a new monastery. The monastery was originally named for Saint Pahrek of Medlar, but in 1499 it was revealed that no such saint had ever been canonised or even existed. The bishop of Meqn issued an edict stripping the monastery of its dedication and recommended that the community choose a new saint. No consensus was forthcoming, despite the attempts by several abbots to force a decision, and the monastery remains undedicated to the present day.

The monastery remains one of the largest Siresian monasteries, with seventy monks resident throughout the year. Its monks support themselves through agriculture on its relatively substantial estates and by selling wine produced in the monastery's vineyards. In 2014, the monastery was left unscathed by the eruption of Kaië Ryio'qi, and its monks offered support and shelter to people in the devastated hinterland.