Agiasos
Agiasos (Greek:Αγιάσος/Ayasos) is a small town and municipality on the Lesvos Island, in Greece. It is located at the slopes of mountain Olympos, at a height of 475 meters, 26 km from Mytilene, with its special bright green landscape, its narrow cobbled streets lined by ranks of tiled-roof houses, the traditional architecture and its restless and religious inhabitants. Ayasos, artistic and religious centre of the island, is a preserved settlement that has many to offer to visitors. A very famous cultural institution has been established in 1894 when the village was still under Turkish domination, the reading society of Anaptixi. Today it has a great library, a theatre hall, a folklore museum and an active organization which tries to continue the great tradition that was passed by the old habitants.
The history of the village (pop. 2,498 in 2001 census) is identified with the history of Panayia of Ayasos (the Greek word for Virgin Mary of Agiasos).
Turning the pages of time 1,200 years back we pause in the Byzantine Era, toward the end of the 8th century – during the time of the wars on icon. In Constantinople, Aghathon the Ephesian, priest of the Chapel of the Palaces, who was an iconophile, falls into the disfavour of Emperor Leo I and is self-exiled to Jerusalem. In the early 802 b. C. Aghathon hears that Empress Irene of Athens, who is also an iconophile, lives in exile on Lesvos island. Wishing to meet her and be nearer to Constantinople, he sets off for Lesvos, taking with him an icon of “Panayia I Vrefokratousa” (Madonna and the Holy Infant), a Silver Cross with wood from the True cross, a manuscript Gospel, and other relics.
He arrives on the island. Meanwhile, Irene of Athens has died. Aghathon, follows the current of a stream and reaches a remote wooded area which is a safe environment in which to stay. This site in Carya where the chapel of Zoodochos Pigi (the life-giving source) with the Holy Water stands today, is where Aghathon hid the Holy Relics and built his hermitage.
He becomes familiar with the local inhabitants of the nearby villages of Karyni and Penthili, and gains their trust and respect. He reveals his secret and vows that the icon of Panayia (Our Lady) – measuring 0,86 X 0,62 – was painted on wax and mastic by Luke the Evangelist. The icon bore the inscription “Mitir Theou, Ayia Sion”, that is, “Mother of God, Holly Sion”. In those times Jerusalem was called “Ayia Sion”. With the passage of time, the small, humble hermitage evolved into a monastery, where devout men from the neighboring villages came to live.
The elderly Aghathon died on February 2 in the year 830. The monks, respecting his last wish, continued to keep the icon of Our Lady and the other relics in the monastery crypt. The monks feared the iconoclasts and pirates who ravaged the islands and coastal towns of Asia Minor. In 842, Orthodoxy triumphed and holy icons were raised all over the territory of the Byzantine Empire. From then on the hermitage of Agathon became a pilgrimage. The icon of Panayia by Luke the Evangelist became renown not merely on the island but all over facing Aeolis. Two pilgrimages to Ayia Sion were equivalent to one pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
The Church of Panayia (Our Lady)
The first church of Panayia
In 1170, Constantinos Valerios granted the monks of Karya permission to erect the Church of Panayia on the elevation where the holy relics of Aghathon lay. The church endured the tests of time, surviving 636 years. A small settlement named Ayia Sion (Ayasos) developed around the church. This settlement gradually grew, becoming an important provincial town. When the island was subjugated by the Ottoman Turks, many Christian families sought refuge inside the protective walls of the Church of Panayia.
In 1701 a Sultan's firman (decree) vested Ayasos the right not to pay taxes. The Turkish Governor of the region, whose headquarters were in Sykounta, fell seriously ill. In despair, he agreed to be incensed and aspersed with the Holy Water of Zoodhochos Pigi, and he was saved by a miracle. The Ottoman Governor was so taken by enthusiasm and gratitude that he felt the need to make a very valuable offering to the Church of Our Lady, however this was forbidden by the Koran. So, he went to Constantinople and passed a firman (decree) exempting the inhabitants of Ayasos the obligation to pay taxes to the Ottoman government or to the Dignitaries of Mytilene. This exemption was a strong incentive for inhabitants from the vicinity to move to Ayasos in order to avoid tax-paying.
Ayasos became a renowned centre of handicraft. In 1729 the number of families in the village had risen to 500.
The firman was abolished in 1783.
The second church of Panayia
However the church was now very old and derelict so it had to be torn down. In 1806 reconstruction work was initiated by the Metropolite of Mytilene Ieremios and the dignitaries of Ayasos. A new church was built in its place, only larger than the first, despite the strict Order issued by the Turkish authorities stipulating that the new church had to be built exactly where the old foundations lay. The work to decorate the exterior and interior of the church took many years to complete. The décor of the interior of this church, like the first church, was very heavy, so rich it was in offerings made by the believers. The church acquired a number of fine ecclesiastical wood carvings, such as its iconostasis, throne, pulpit and the icon-stands.
The third church of Panayia
The craftsmen were still working on the wood carving when suddenly, on the 6th night of August 1812, the church went up in flames in the great fire that destroyed a large section of the town. Fortunately, all but one icon on the iconostasis were salvaged. The only icon that was destroyed was the icon of Our Lord. Indescribable was the sorrow and anguish of the devout Christians of Ayasos and the deep mourning all over the island at the loss of such a unique monument of the Christian faith.
Nonetheless, the donations which believers of Ayasos so open-handedly offered and the fund-raisers initiated by the Metropolite of Mytilene Callinicus and his emissaries who carried his word to the rural areas and to the opposite coasts of Asia Minor, enabled a third church, which is still standing today, to be built in 1815.
Sultan Mahmud II granted permission for the church to be built as requested by the inhabitants of Ayasos, on condition that the size of the building would not exceed that of the previous one. The church was 32,20m long and 26,2 m wide. This three-aisle basilica had three apses and three Lord’s Tables; the one on the right was dedicated to Saint Charalampus, the one on the left to Saint Nicholas.
Almost all of the glebes had to be sold in order to finance the reconstruction work of the Church. In 1816 a second fund-raiser was held among the Christians in the towns and villages of Aeolis, in order to finance the completion of the interior decoration work. The construction of the iconostasis, the throne and pulpit by fine craftsmen lasted twenty years.
The church of Panayia is a true palace of faith. The offerings are treasures of priceless worth. Icons from Byzantine and Post-Byzantine era adorning the church, create an impression that one is in a place of divine Byzantine beauty.
A second fire, which broke out in 1877, almost destroyed the entire village. However, the church remained intact. Up until then the upper section of the houses that projected onto the narrow roads were made of wood. After the fire these houses were rebuilt, only this time the upper section was made of stone rather than wood and the roads were widened. The village took its present form.
Ayasos has a population of 2.500 permanent residents, while it had 8.000 in the 60s.
The 'Paniyiri' of Panayia (The festival / feast day of Our Lady)
The feast day of Panayia takes place on the 15 August. Pilgrims begin arriving weeks before the 15th not only from Lesbos but from all over Greece in order to spend the first fortnight of August (“dekapentizo”) in the monk cells or camp out in the churchyard. A carnival-like atmosphere slowly builds up, peaking on the eve of the feast day.
The pilgrims arrive by all means of transportation. In fact many pilgrims walk all the way to Ayasos from Mytilene and other villages on the island, admiring the scenery along the way on the warm summer night in August. Most of the pilgrims walking to Ayasos make a stop at Karyni, in order to catch their breath and cool off under the shade of the perennial plane trees joining in the traditional festivities and merry-making. At this point of the walking trip the more daring and determined pay special tribute to the icon of Panayia Vrefokratousa by taking the old cobblestone path called “patomeni”, a shortcut through the olive groves leading to Ayasos. The village comes alive with ceremony on the eve of the Feast Day of Panayia (15 August). The town of Mytilene is literally a ghost town for a couple of days, since everybody has set off for Ayasos in order to promenade and frolic through the cobbled lanes around the church, the squares and the Garden of Panayia. This large religious celebration -market fair attracts many stall-holders who display their merchandize anywhere they can and the shop-keepers advertise their local products such as halva, sour apples, pears as best they can, while the spicy fragrance of oregano and aromatic leaves of sage leave no-one unmoved.
Many people are still awake when dawn breaks and the fresh morning breeze blows from the mountain. The festive atmosphere is unique for all those who happen to experience it.
On the feast day of Panayia, after the observance, the holy icon is circulated round the church.
The church’s fair is held on the feast day of the Holy Spirit, marking the beginning of summer for all village activities. Access to the church is easiest by taking the upper entrance to the village, is found if you turn left at the crossroad leading to Megalochori.
Ceramics
The history of the art of ceramics in Agiasos is as old as the history of the town itself.
The arrival of the icon of Our Lady and the other relics to the island on the one hand, and the foundation of the monastery on the other, contributed to transforming Agiasos into a place of pilgrimage. This pilgrimage attracted thousands of believers, especially during the Turkish Rule. Thus, production of pottery such as water pitchers, plates etc in order to meet the demands of the throngs of devout Christians.
Nowadays, a new series of pottery products has been introduced; small fonts (receptacles for holy water) used by the pilgrims to transport the holy water to their homes and other clay knickknacks and souvenirs.