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Church of Our Lady of Prathi

Religious Tourism

Church of Our Lady of Prathi

The church of Our Lady Phaneromene (Revealed) of Prathi is located twenty kilometers to the southeast of the town of Loutraki, 1150 meters above sea level, in the Geraneia Mountains. It is one of the oldest churches in Peloponnesus, surrounded by pine trees. Once there was a wealthy coenobitic monastery on the same site that dated back to 1821. Of the original foundation, traces of some cells and storerooms have survived, along with the katholicon, which contains wall paintings that date back 1466. Another church, dedicated to the Dormition of Our Lady was built at a later date a few meters to the north of the old Katholicon.

Old church: The church is made of cube stones and it has a gabled roof decorated in its west gable by a marble cross. The highest point of the roof is surrounded by a krepidoma of building stones. Access to the central church is possible at the west gate, through an arched passageway. It is a three-aisled basilica. The floor of the middle aisle and of the altar contains circular marble schemes and marble ornaments. The altarscreen is built and has been renovated. It is decorated by hagiographies that vary a lot in art style and probably date to after 1463 and before 1600. It contains an inscription, a reference to phoenix the symbol of the byzantine Renaissance. Ten years after the Fall of Constantinople, the desire to recover the lost country is still intense. In the central church there are full length depictions of the saints, though at present the heads have been erased from half of them. The hagiographies of the church are painted with dark colors.

Over the left gate of the altar there is an inscription indicating the year 1463. It does not constitute the year of foundation though, but the date of the hagiography. The katholikon (main church) of the monastery was possibly founded in the early 11th century, if we judge from the depiction of Pope Leo IX who connected his name to the Great Schism.

New church: To the north of the old church lies the new and more spacious church of Our Lady of Prathi. It is a three-aisled domed basilica (13,5 × 6.6 meter). The roof of the main church starts with arches that meet the transept a few meters before the altarscreen forming a cross. The sanctuary is thus integrated in the eastern side of the cross. The altarscreen is built and has a plaster lining while the hagiography was made by I. and M. Pappa-Vlassopoulou in 1983. The twelve full length hagiographies indicate that the hagiographies will be completed in the future. To the north of the new church there is a building used as a guesthouse and a warehouse. The area around the church is truly magic.

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