The Pilgrim church Panagia Argokiliotissa
At Argokíli, near the mountain village of Kóronos, you can visit a large pilgrimage church, one of the largest church buildings in the Balkans.
The pilgrimage church is located in a rather barren, largely deserted plateau south-east of Kóronos in an area called Argokíli.
Nearby lies the small abandoned settlement of Atsipápi.
Visiting Argokíli on the Nameday of the church: to the right the old church of Panagía Argokiliótissa, in the foreground on the left the church of Ágia Anna; behind it the new, gigantic church building (photo from 2009).
At Argokíli some miraculous icons were found in 1836 due to prophecies and dreams. Only one of these has survived, a very small icon carved from a special wax, the composition of which is no longer known. After the icons were found, they were taken to Naxos-town and the people of Koronos were unable to learn what had become of them.
In 1851, the people from Koronos built a church at Argokíli, the old church of Panagía Argokiliótissa, which celebrates its festival on the Friday after Easter, the day of the Life-giving Spring. Every year, hundreds of people from Naxos and the neighbouring islands made a pilgrimage to Argokíli for this festival, where they often stayed overnight or even for several days in simple cells near the church.
The old church of Panagía Argokiliótissa, built in 1851
In the second half of the 19th century, a simple woman in Koronos had an encounter with St Spyridon, whose voice she heard again and again for years afterwards and through whom she learnt prophecies that she was to tell the people of Koronos. These not only gave them warnings, such as about the collapse of an emery mine, but also announced things of modern life, such as the car, the telephone or street lighting, things that were still inexplicable and incredible to people at the time and which only became understandable long afterwards. In the 1920s, many people in Koronos, including many children, once again began to have dreams and to proclaim prophecies. Many of them spoke of great poverty and hunger that would afflict the village in the near future, heralding the time of the Second World War and the Italian occupation, which led to a particularly devastating famine in Koronos that claimed the lives of over 300 people.
In 1930, the small wax icon was rediscovered in a house altar in Chóra due to the dreams of a schoolgirl from Kóronos and brought back to Kóronos. The icon was fitted with a silver frame and is still venerated by the local population as a miraculous icon. It is similar to the icon found at the large pilgrimage site on Tinos and is considered by some to be the work of St Luke the Evangelist.
The miraculous icon is made of a special wax whose composition is unknown today. It is only about 5 x 5 centimetres in size. The front depicts the Annunciation (left), the back the Baptism of Christ (right). Photo from Wikipedia
On the church holiday, “Niá Paraskeví”, the Friday after Easter, many people still gather at Argokíli to attend the liturgy and, in particular, to pray for good health. People used to come on foot from all over the island, the women dressed in black; many walked barefoot and some even slid all the way on their knees. Even today, there are still quite a few people who walk to Argokíli for the Nameday festival, often arriving on the day before and spending the night in the cells of the large church complex. After the liturgy in the always crowded church, the icon is carried around the church buildings in a long procession by marines stationed at the nearby military base of the Navy.
Many people gather at Argokíli every year for the church festival on the Friday after Easter (the day of the Life-giving Spring).
Richly decorated dignitaries of the church hold the liturgy.
The miraculous icon is carried around the churches in a solemn procession by the soldiers from the nearby station of the Navy.
Next to Panagía Argokiliótissa lies a second small church, Ágia Ánna or Ágia Évresi (= “Holy Discovery”. This church was built in 1962 directly above the small cave or crevice where the miraculous icons were found. Inside the church, you can climb up the crevice via steps roughly hewn into the wall coming out to daylight again above the church through a low doorway. It is assumed that the small cave belonged to a Byzantine guard post and that the icons were hidden here at the time of the iconoclasm.
In front of the old church of Panagía Argokiliótissa you can see the blue dome of Ágia Ánna.
View from the same place to the new pilgrimage church.
Many visitors pass through the small church, which is built on the crevice where the icons were found.
the interior of the Ágia Ánna or Ágia Évresi
The holy holy water flows here, often only drop by drop.
At the back, you enter the small cave or crevice; on one side stands this “altar” with dedications.
Here you can climb the narrow, steep stone steps up the crevice where the icons were found.
view from the top down the stairs
Through this door you come out again, slightly above and behind the church.
see also:
further reading: Panagia Argokiliotissa auf Wikipedia (in Greek)