{"id":15597,"date":"2022-11-26T18:33:15","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T16:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klqewmpxo.cyon.link\/?p=15597"},"modified":"2024-11-06T20:49:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T18:49:05","slug":"naxos-argokiliotissa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azalas.de\/en\/naxos-argokiliotissa\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pilgrim church Panagia Argokiliotissa"},"content":{"rendered":"

A<\/big>t Argok\u00edli, near the mountain village of K\u00f3ronos, you can visit a large pilgrimage church, one of the largest church buildings in the Balkans.<\/p>\n

\"Argok\u00edli
\nThe pilgrimage church is located in a rather barren, largely deserted plateau south-east of K\u00f3ronos in an area called Argok\u00edli.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argok\u00edli<\/p>\n

\"Atsipapi
\nNearby lies the small abandoned settlement of Atsip\u00e1pi.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argok\u00edli\"
\nVisiting Argok\u00edli on the Nameday of the church: to the right the old church of Panag\u00eda Argokili\u00f3tissa, in the foreground on the left the church of \u00c1gia Anna; behind it the new, gigantic church building (photo from 2009).<\/small><\/p>\n

A<\/big>t Argok\u00edli 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.<\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa\"<\/p>\n

I<\/big>n 1851, the people from Koronos built a church at Argok\u00edli, the old church of Panag\u00eda Argokili\u00f3tissa, 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 Argok\u00edli for this festival, where they often stayed overnight or even for several days in simple cells near the church.<\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa\"
\nThe old church of Panag\u00eda Argokili\u00f3tissa, built in 1851<\/small><\/p>\n

I<\/big>n 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.<\/p>\n

I<\/big>n 1930, the small wax icon was rediscovered in a house altar in Ch\u00f3ra due to the dreams of a schoolgirl from K\u00f3ronos and brought back to K\u00f3ronos. 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.<\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa
\nThe 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<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

O<\/big>n the church holiday, “Ni\u00e1 Paraskev\u00ed”, the Friday after Easter, many people still gather at Argok\u00edli 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 Argok\u00edli 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.<\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa\"
\nMany people gather at Argok\u00edli every year for the church festival on the Friday after Easter (the day of the Life-giving Spring).<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa\"
\nRichly decorated dignitaries of the church hold the liturgy.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa\"
\nThe miraculous icon is carried around the churches in a solemn procession by the soldiers from the nearby station of the Navy.<\/small><\/p>\n

N<\/big>ext to Panag\u00eda Argokili\u00f3tissa lies a second small church, \u00c1gia \u00c1nna or \u00c1gia \u00c9vresi (= “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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa\"
\nIn front of the old church of Panag\u00eda Argokili\u00f3tissa you can see the blue dome of \u00c1gia \u00c1nna.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa\"
\nView from the same place to the new pilgrimage church.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argok\u00edli\"
\nMany visitors pass through the small church, which is built on the crevice where the icons were found.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa
\nthe interior of the \u00c1gia \u00c1nna or \u00c1gia \u00c9vresi<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa
\nThe holy holy water flows here, often only drop by drop.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa
\nAt the back, you enter the small cave or crevice; on one side stands this “altar” with dedications.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa
\nHere you can climb the narrow, steep stone steps up the crevice where the icons were found.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa
\nview from the top down the stairs<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Argokiliotissa
\nThrough this door you come out again, slightly above and behind the church.<\/small><\/p>\n

see also:<\/p>\n