Panagia Krina

It's the small but beautiful church dedicated to Virgin Mary and located in Vavili, a very silent and green place.
Panagia Krina was built in thirteenth century by Efstathios Kodratos and his wife Eirini Doukaina Pepagomeni, both of whom were members of the court in Constantinople.

The construction is based on cruciform plan and his octagonal shape resembles the Nea Moni monastery, which you can also know by listening to our radio.

Panagia Krina was significantly destroyed after the earthquake in 1881, but was later fortunately reconstructed.

It has undergone many renovations and still needs to be restored and fixed due to its old age.

The architectural patterns include double arches, curved pediments, arches windows, doors and the pilasters.

The majority of the interior walls are covered with paintings. They were created over many years. We can notice six different stages, during which extremely varied works  were formed.

For many years, this fact was a mystery. When the external layers were torn off, the previous ones could be discovered.

In this way, twelve prophets portraits appeared, originating from the Byzantine period.
In its present form, they are not clearly visible, what makes them even more mysterious.
Some of already restored wall paintings are displayed in the Ioustiniani Palace in Chios and you can also see the murals painted by Michael Chomatzas in 1734 in the Byzantine Museum of Chios.

Who knows what kind of other secrets Panagia Krina still hides from us.