HOLY PILGRIMAGE OF PANAGIA FANEROMENI

The face of the Most Holy Theotokos is completely intertwined with the daily life of every Orthodox Christian. In the immaculate face of our Holy Mother, the experience of the Church sees and recognizes the synergy of human freedom in the incarnation of God. She who opened the door of time to the Timeless and Uncreated, and also She who revealed another door, the Kingdom of God. She revealed to all of us humans another way of life. A life untroubled and indestructible.

This explains the existence of many churches, small and large, in our bustling cities, in our picturesque villages, and in the deserted places of silence, our Orthodox Monasteries, dedicated to Her Person.

One of these many holy places is the place where you are now and where we welcome you. The Holy Pilgrimage of Panagia Faneromeni, in Nea Artaki of Evia.

NAME

Her name, Faneromeni, brings us to unforgettable places and takes us far back in time. To the sacred land of Asia Minor, at the foot of Mount Dindymon, a few kilometers outside Cyzicus, in the 12th century AD.

There, as tradition informs us, a Holy and Venerable Icon of the Theotokos was discovered in a miraculous way among the bushes, at the site of the temple of the ancient goddess Cybele, which the inhabitants of Cyzicus named Faneromeni.

At the place where the Holy Icon was found, they erected a Monastery named "Panagia Faneromeni", where the Holy Icon was kept until the year 1922, when the inhabitants of Cyzicus were forced to leave their ancestral homes and seek a new homeland. Leaving their place, the first of all their precious treasures they took was the Holy Icon of Faneromeni.

As the Artakinians journeyed to Greece, they passed through Constantinople. There, after the Ecumenical Patriarchate became aware of the presence of the Holy Icon in the City, Clergy received it with due honors and placed it in the Most Holy Patriarchal Church of Saint George, where it remains to this day.

THE MIRACULOUS PRESENCE OF FANEROMENI IN EVIA

Three decades after the violent separation of the Artakinians from the motherland of Asia Minor and their Mother Panagia Faneromeni, at noon on April 29, 1951, Easter Sunday, a miraculous event occurred in their new homeland, Nea Artaki of Evia, which was to mark their ecclesiastical life.

Eight girls, aged 10 – 12 years, were in a seaside location and in the resurrectional atmosphere of the day, they were playing and singing. Suddenly, at a short distance from where they were, they noticed a black-clad, exceptionally beautiful woman, kneeling and in a posture of prayer. On Her hands, She wore golden cuffs and on Her head, She had a black veil and a halo.

The little girls, in front of this sight, were disturbed and full of fear, they left the place to notify their parents. However, when they arrived at the place, the black-clad woman had disappeared. But not the traces of Her presence. The imprints of Her knees were still in the soil.

The little girls reported the events to the village priest, the late Fr. Spyridon Athanasiou, and he to the also late Metropolitan of Chalkida, Gregory (Pliathos) (1922 – 1968), who called the girls who confirmed the miracle to him, even telling him that the woman appeared in their sleep, telling them that She is the Panagia and that at the place of Her appearance, they should build a Church.

After these events, the Metropolitan gave his canonical blessing for a Holy Church to be erected in honor of the Panagia, which later took the legal form of a Holy Pilgrimage.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOLY PILGRIMAGE

The foundation stone of the Holy Church was laid by Metropolitan Gregory on August 12, 1951. Since then, the offering of people to the Panagia began, which continues to this day, as a precious legacy left to us by our ancestors.

The Holy Pilgrimage was rebuilt and acquired a magnificent Holy Church, to glorify the name of God and to magnify the name of His Holy Mother, whose Dedication was celebrated in 1969 by the late Metropolitan of Chalkida, Nicholas (Selentis) (1968 - 1974).

At the place of the Panagiophany, a Holy Chapel was erected, above which is the bell tower of the Holy Church.

In the courtyard of the Holy Pilgrimage, which is particularly distinguished for its natural beauty and offers an opportunity for true recreation, majestic holy shrines were erected in the northeastern part, referring to the life of the Lord and the Panagia, creating feelings of devotion in the souls of pilgrims, especially the young children.

On the southern side of the courtyard, the Lazarus Spiritual Center has been erected, which was recently (2004 – 2005) renovated from the ground up, inaugurated, and delivered for use on the day of the Feast, August 23, 2005, by His Eminence Metropolitan of Chalkida, Mr. Chrysostomos, and houses all the activities of the Holy Pilgrimage: Office, Apartment of the Priest, Catechetical Gatherings, Byzantine Music lessons, as well as a Book and Devotional Items Exhibition.

On the western side of the Courtyard, there is a spacious hall for offering coffee and sweets after the Divine Liturgy, as well as for other activities, which contribute to further communication and strengthening of the relationships of the churchgoers.

Right next to it, a new Canteen is being erected, which will meet the needs of the numerous pilgrims.

The administration of the Holy Pilgrimage is exercised by a five-member Administrative Council, chaired by the Metropolitan of Chalkida, Mr. Chrysostomos.

VISITING METHOD

The Holy Pilgrimage of Panagia Faneromeni is located in the city of Nea Artaki, eight kilometers north of Chalkida, on the National Road connecting Chalkida with Central and Northern Evia. On the Road, within the city of Artaki, there are clear signs leading to the Holy Pilgrimage.

The visit to the Holy Pilgrimage of Faneromeni can be combined with a visit to the historic Early Christian Basilica of the 5th century of Saint Paraskevi, the patron saint of Chalkida (tel. 22210.25579 and 22112), to the Holy Pilgrimage of Saint John the Russian the Wonderworker in Nea Prokopi of Central Evia (tel. 22270.41209), as well as to other holy places (Churches, Monasteries) that exist in the beautiful Evia.

Priest in Charge: Archimandrite Seraphim Speis

Priest: Archimandrite Methodios Fountoulis.

Postal Address: Holy Pilgrimage of Panagia Faneromeni –

346 00 Nea Artaki

Church Phone: 22210. 42811