Built on a steep hill of Keas (or Tzia) , in a unique location at the northeastern end of the island, is the Holy Monastery of Panagia Kastriani.

The journey of protothema.gr this Passover in the solemn atmosphere exuded by monasteries all over Greece continues today, Holy Wednesday, while we experience the Divine Passion until the Resurrection. The Holy Monastery of Panagia Kastriani is the patron saint of Tzia. It attracts thousands of believers every year for pilgrimage even though the monastery has not been in operation and has not hosted monks for two whole centuries.

The miracle of 1,700 AD.

The history of the monastery begins in 1700 AD when nothing could be seen in the area except an uninhabited rock which belonged to a landowner of the time, Yakoumatos. He had made sure that he simply had stables there for his livestock. One night, the shepherds who were keeping them suddenly saw a light on the top of the hill opposite them – on the spot where the Virgin Mary of Castria is today. Predictably, they were intrigued, knowing that the top was unguarded.

The mysterious glow appeared on the next two evenings. The next night, together with the rancher, they climbed the rock, located the bush from which the light was emanating, dug, and at its root found an icon of the Priest of God. It is this miraculous icon that the faithful flock to venerate today and is located in the Holy Monastery of Our Lady of Kastriani.

But even the site where the monastery was eventually built in honor of Panagia, it is as if it was not chosen by a human mind. This is because while they originally started building the monastery on the opposite spot from where it is today – as it was both level and had water – the foundations were impossible to support.

Suddenly everything would fall, be destroyed, and they would start all over again. So they decided to build the temple right where the icon had been located. The iconography of the first church – a second church followed – dates back to 1708 AD. Gradually the monastery also functioned, but in 1833, with king Otto’s decree “on the dissolution of monasteries”, which provided for the closure of all monasteries that had fewer than six monks, it was closed, and since then no monks have ever lived in the “cells” again.

However, they did not remain vacant forever. Today, after many bureaucratic adventures and property procedures that had to be taken care of, the “cells” are home to devotees who flock to venerate the icon of the Virgin Mary or to fulfill vows they have made.

The priest who came for 3 months and has lived in the monastery for 36 years

The monastery’s church is also “sought after” for weddings and baptisms. As the Archpriest Commissioner of Kea & Makronissos, Father Eleftherios Demenagas, tells Proto Thema with a smile, “I have done around 780 baptisms and 280 marriages. Now the ones I had baptized come to get married  and I baptize their children. They come to get married and I say something is wrong with me. I mean time is passing. You now see girls 20 years old, the same with young men and you say what’s going on?”

Father Eleftherios came to stay at the monastery with his wife for three months. Since then 36 years have passed and they have not left for a moment. There they raised their children and grandchildren. As the monastery of Our Lady of Kastriani explains, “It is a big school. It is a spiritual school. As long as, of course, you want to want to listen. You have to want to test yourself. Who you are, what you are. Not a know-it-all, etc. It has a lot to give you. It’s a place where you really get in touch with every person who walks in, meets them and they meet you. That is, although it has an apparent quietness, in fact the person who comes to pray opens up. And of course this is good for me who is listening, but also for the person who is resting, but who is taking care, who is taking out of himself what he is carrying. That’s why we consider it a very special spot.”

Regarding the icon of the Virgin Mary of Kastriani, which is considered miraculous, Father Eleftherios tells us that there are two recorded miracles and “infinite miracles that have reached our ears without being recorded. Like women who came in tears, childless, etc., and then they would call and say ‘you know, I got pregnant’, and they would come and baptize it here.” At the same time, however, he clarifies that “We here believe that the Virgin Mary is miraculous and of course the miracle is done by our own will.”

Metanoia, humility, forgiveness

Today, Great Wednesday, the Church is commemorating the event of the anointing of the Lord with myrrh by a prostitute woman. The woman repents, weeps at the feet of Christ and asks for forgiveness. Christ defends her, despite the fact that His disciples criticized her.

The Archpriest Commissioner of Kea & Makronisos stresses the importance of participating in the sacrament of penance “which is in essence confession. You come and take out the rubbish of your soul and leave it on the stone of the priest. And it is you, the priest and God. You really empty your soul.”

“Can one understand humility and forgiveness without the great sacrament of our Church, which is confession? If he does not go to confession and humble himself and accept, do sincere penance, and there any forgiveness is granted. It is impressive. Christ gave an authority to His disciples: He told them that what you forgive on earth will be forgiven. And what you have not forgiven will not be forgiven,” adds, speaking to Proto Thema, the Professor of General Ecclesiastical History at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA), John Panagiotopoulos.

Tonight the faithful join the events of the Last Supper. Christ is asking His disciples to follow His example. “This is the purpose. This is what we must do. To follow in the footsteps of Christ,” Father Eleftherios says in closing our conversation.