Agia Moni
The church Agia Moni is located on the east side of Kythira, on the mountain range above Diakofti. In September 23rd, 1767 a shepherd named Viaros found an icon of the Virgin Mary and Saint George in a cloth bearing the inscription “The Abbey of all hope”. A lightning struck the area and everything but the icon was destroyed. The bishop of Kythira Nikiforos Mormoris visited the place and saw the ruins of the small church and the cells. With the commissioners and the priests he decided to build a monastery. In the 19th century, the church was reconstructed and extended. It is of single-aisle basilica type. The western lintel shows the inscription: “The reconstruction of the sacred temple of Agia Moni began in the year 1840 under the supervision and administration of the holy bishop Prokopios Kallonas”. The bell tower was built in 1848.
The icon of the Virgin Mary has a silver coating. To the right of the Virgin Mary, one can see the icon of Theotokos (10cm by 15cm), the icon initially found in the area, and the icon of Saint George to the left. The silver coating, created in 1839 by Nikolaos Theophilos Spithakis bears the inscription “The church of all Hope”. The winged altarpiece of the church is wooden and was made by Ioannis Argyris in 1841.
The church has cells, an abbey and auxiliary spaces. The custom of Dekapentismos is observed in this location. The worshipers stay in the cells from the 1st of August until the Assumption of Mary on the 15th of August. They observe the daily program of fasting and mass. Service is celebrated on the 6th of August as well as in Palm Sunday.
The Church of Agia Moni (as well as the Panagia Myrtidiotissa church in the west of the island and of Agios Ioannis in Kapsali), are the property of of Kythira citizen, and are exclusively managed by the Domestic Property Committee of Kythira and Antikythira. The Bishop of Kythira and Antikythira is the chairman of the Ecclesiastical Committee.
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