

CHIOS - PANAGIA KRINA
Among
the countless churches and the small picturesque chapels which decorate the
colonizings of the Municipality of Kampochora, the church of Panagia Krina
holds a special place. Between the colonizings of Vavili,
Halkios and Zifias,
surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape with olive groves and pine trees,
the temple resists vigorously to the passing of time and carries its history
to the present day. It is considered to be a golden ring in the chain of the
religious tradition of the island.
The initial temple was built in the 12th century, the
outer one was added in the 18th century. As owners of the initial temple are
mentioned Eustathios Kordatos and his wife Irene Doukena Pagomeni, who belonged
to the imperial court of Constantinople.
The
shape of the temple is octagonal and looks like the one of Nea Moni, keeping
however its unique brightness, with the irregularly built walls allowing the
sunlight to "revive" the church and its wonderful wallpaintings
differently according to the light of the day.
The first hagiographies were made, according to an inscription,
in 1197. But inside the temple there are five more different kind of hagiographies,
each from a different period, that are maintained until today and give the
visitor an image of the development of the art of painting in Chios. The second
decoration, of the Byzantine period, was done at the end of the 14th century.
From this the icons of the twelve prophets have been rescued and are now exhibited
at the <Byzantine Archaeological Museum of Chios>. The paintings of
the third period, also Byzantine, can be seen on the wall of the North and
the South temple, while the ones of the post-Byzantine period remain in the
Altar.
In
the year 1734 the whole temple was almost covered by the hagiographies of
the artist Michael Homatza and after the destructive earthquake of 1881, the
paintings of the Ruler of Everything and the Angels were painted on the dome.
A few years ago, the works for the maintenance of the
church started and it is remarkable how the specialists have managed to separate
and restore parts of all the painting styles. These maintenance works continue
until today.