The sleep of the Virgin
Mural by Michael Astrapas and Eftychios in Agios Klimentas of Ohrid
So from the first of the month, begins the preparation of Orthodox Christians to honor the mother of the Godman, but also of all people, the everlasting Maria, set on 15 Her Assumption is celebrated in August.
Panagia the Hodegetria
The Assumption of the Virgin is one of the greatest celebrations of Christianity and in Greece it is celebrated from one end to the other with great brilliance and reverence..
Virgin Mary the sweetheart
The Appearances of the Virgin – The agon was sacred
Iostefani, Iroploos and Smigopelagi Panagia
Virgin Mary the liberator
This special worship that the Greek people have for the Virgin Mary can be seen from the hundreds of nicknames that have been given to her., but also from the innumerable pilgrimages throughout the territory.
Virgin Mary the Savior of Sinners
The rich Greek language and our unique religious tradition have collaborated over the years, with a feeling of overwhelm and special inspiration, giving the virgins of Greece amazing names.
Panagia Platytera
The names of the Virgin Mary
Our Lady of Mercy
Every year the focus of the festive events is in Panagia of Tinos, where it also has a national character, since, in addition to the Virgin Mary, the memory of those who were lost during the torpedoing of the warship "Elli" is also honored., by the Italians, in the port of the island on the day of Panagia, but also in Vermio, Imathia, where the Virgin of the uprooted Pontians is honored.
Panagia of Tinos
Tinos – The Virgin of the Nation
The icon of the Virgin of Tinos was found on 30 Of January 1823, after many efforts and "at the suggestion of the Virgin Mary to the nun Pelagia", in the historic Monastery of the "Lady of the Angels", in Kechrovouni.
Celebration of the Virgin Mary in Tinos
By his Royal Decree 1836, It was established that the celebration of the Virgin Mary in Tinos should be eight days long and last until the "nine days of the Virgin Mary"., at 23 August, where in an atmosphere of emotion, contemplation and respect, hymns and praises are sung, in front of the epitaph and the image.
Prayer to the Virgin of Tinos
The road that leads from the port to the temple of the Annunciation, where the image was found, is the greatest proof of the inseparable relationship of Hellenism with Orthodoxy.
Panagia Faneromeni – Cervix in Sitia
Sitia – Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni
The monastery of Panagia Faneromeni Trachila in Sitia is located on the edge of a steep area between the Cape of Trachila and Babakia, west of Sitia. It is built in a green area in the small gorge of Agioi Panton. Inside the gorge there are many caves, where the hermits of the Monastery lived. 
The monastery of Panagia Faneromeni Trachila Sitia
The Monastery is currently commissioned and operated by the Parish of Purpose. It celebrates the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, at 15 August, so many believers flock from all over the province of Sitia.
The transfer of the miraculous icon of Panagia "Kyra Faneromeni"
The ceremony of transferring the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary on the eve of the 15th of August is touching, of the so-called "Sun.aς Φανερωμένης », from the Parish Church of Agios Georgios Skopis, where it is kept all year round, at the Monastery of Faneromeni, but also her return after the feast of the Assumption to the same place. Crowds of pilgrims on foot accompany the holy image led by the Priest of Purpose, the cantors, the six wings and the banners, chanting the Holy Prayer and hymns of the Mother of God to Despina and Pantanassa of the world.
Saint Mary of Soumela
Imathia – A Pontia from Athens
Panagia Soumela is the symbol of the Pontian faith, although the first name of the miraculous image was Athiniotissa. The icon of Panagia Soumela was painted by the Evangelist Luke. After his death, Ananias's student transported her to Athens and placed her in a beautiful church of the Virgin Mary.. This is how Atheniotissa was originally named Panagia. At the end of the 4th century (380-386 A.D.), according to tradition, Panagia Athiniotissa appeared as a vision to the monks Sophronios and Barnabas, in Athens, and called them to church. There they saw the image rising from the shrine, to come out of the window and fly to the heavens. At the same time, they heard the Virgin Mary say: "I am going to the East. I am ahead of Mount Mela. Follow me…». The monks followed her to Mount Mela, in Pontus, where he stood, a large Temple and Monastery was built. Thus the image got the name Soumela from the phrase "in Mela". The 1922, after the Asia Minor catastrophe, monks buried the image, along with other heirlooms. By exchange, the sacred relics were given and the 1931 he dug them up and brought them to Greece, Ambrosios the Soumeliotis. The icon was returned to Athens and remained in the Museum until 1951. Then, The "Panagia Soumela" Association of Thessaloniki proposed the construction of a church on the slopes of Vermi, in Kastania, Veria.
The Virgin Mary in Mikrokastro, Voio- Kozani
Mikrokastro of Kozani – I rode all over the church
The celebration of the 15th of August in the historical monastery of Panagia in Mikrokastro is special, of the municipality of Voio- Kozani. Every year thousands of believers worship the image of the Virgin Mary, dating from 1603, while the revival of the custom of the pilgrims from Siatista makes an impression.
… with destination the Monastery of Panagia of Mikrokastro
The custom of the cavalry pilgrims comes from the Turkish occupation, when it was an opportunity for the enslaved to show their valor and desire for freedom.
Panagia Ekatontapyliani
Paros – The Virgin Mary with 100 doors
The church of Panagia Ekatontapyliani is located in Parikia, of Paros. There are two names for the temple: "Katapoliani" and "Ekatontapyliani". According to tradition, Katopoliani has ninety-nine open doors, while the centimeter is closed and not visible. This door will be visible and open, when the Greeks take the City. Many traditions refer to the founding of Ekatontapyliani. The first informs that, when St. Helen's mother went to Palestine to find the Holy Cross, arrived in Paros and prayed p’ a small temple located on the site of Ekatontapyliani. During her prayer she vowed that if she found the Holy Cross, will build in this place a large temple. Her prayer was answered. He found the Holy Cross and, making her vow, erected the majestic temple of Ekatontapyliani. A second tradition states that Agia Eleni's vow was completed by her son Agios Konstantinos, emperor of Byzantium, as she did not catch up.
"The snakes of the Virgin"
Kefalonia – The snakes of the Virgin
In southern Kefalonia, near the village of Markopoulo, is the temple of the Assumption. There from the feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior (6 August) small snakes appear inside and outside the temple. They are the so-called "snakes of the Virgin". In this position, says tradition, there was an old monastery of Panagia, big and rich. When the monastery was attacked by pirates, the nuns, in order not to fall into their hands, asked the Virgin Mary to make them birds., or snakes. So, like snakes, sacred now, they return every year at the beginning of August and as the days go by they multiply. On the eve of the Assumption, they "flood" the temple. According to tradition if some year the snakes do not appear, is a bad sign. This is what happened 1940 and 1953, when the island was tested by earthquakes.
Panagia Agiasotissa
Lesvos- Panagia Agiasotissa
In the hinterland of Lesvos, in Agiassos, August 15 is a special experience for everyone. The icon of the same name is the work of the evangelist Luke, decorated with candle and mastic. Many of the pilgrims, starting from the city of Mytilene, they walk 25 kilometers to reach the churchyard, where they spend the night. On the day of the feast of the Virgin, after operation, the image is rotated around the temple, while the festive events reach their climax with the music and dance events in the village square.
The Virgin of Olympus
Karpathos – The Virgin of Olympus
The celebration in Olympus of Karpathos is different. The services are deeply connected with the mourning that characterizes the day of the 15th of August and the culmination of the traditional celebration is the dance that takes place in the small square, in front of the church of Panagia, with the organists playing the Bottom Dance. The dance, slow and always with a steady step and an all-night mood, lasts for hours.
Panagia Hozoviotissa
Amorgos – The Hozoviotissa
In Amorgos, on a cliff 300 meters dominates the historic monastery of Panagia Hozoviotissa which is honored on 15 August. It was built 1088 AD by the Byzantine emperor Alexios A.’ Komnenos, according to an inscription of I.. Monastery. There are two traditions about how the image arrived on Amorgos: The first says that the image was found inside a boat exactly where the current monastery is built. The image is said to have been placed by a pious lady in a boat from the Palestinian city of Hozova and left to travel alone by sea., to escape the hands of the iconoclasts. The second version says that the miraculous image was brought to Amorgos by monks from the monastery of Hodgeva in Palestine., located near Jericho, who left due to persecution by the iconoclasts. Passing through Cyprus, the monks fell on robbers who desecrated, they cut it in two and threw the image into the sea. The two pieces miraculously came under the rock of Amorgos and joined on their own without being distinguished from the intersection. Others say that they were joined by the monks who continued their journey, They arrived in Amorgos and built the monastery in the place indicated to them by the Virgin Mary. The witness for this place was the chisel, which for centuries was stuck in the rock and fell 1952.
Panagia Spiliani
Nisyros – Panagia Spiliani
One of the most multi-day and special celebrations of the Virgin Mary takes place on the island of Nisyros. Here the Niamero of the Virgin Mary is celebrated, starting at 6 August, celebration of the Transfiguration of the Savior. The custom is dedicated to the woman, as well as the black-clad Enniameritisses (women ordained in the Virgin Mary) take a leading role in worship. They are installed in the area of the monastery of Panagia Spiliani which is located inside the castle of the Knights, worship and clean the space and the sacred utensils.
The Vangelistra of the Sporades
Skiathos – The Vangelistra of the Sporades
Drowned in the green, at the mouth of the Lehouni stream and next to its springs, the location of Agalianou, below the highest peak of Skiathos, Karaflyjanaka, The Holy Convent Monastery of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary was built, the Monastery of Evangelistria or Vangelistra, as the Skiathians say. The reconstruction of the Monastery began in 1794 by a small group of monks of the "Kollyvades" movement, who were forced to leave Mount Athos, due to the turmoil that existed then on the occasion of the day on which the memorial services were to be held normally, on Saturday, that is, instead of Sunday and the basic motto is the return to the ancient tradition of the Church. Thousands of pilgrims flock on August 15th, where on the eve of the night the exit of the epitaph of the Virgin Mary takes place, in an atmosphere of unique immersion, under the moving melody of the praises of the Virgin Mary that all the people of Skiathos sing together. A custom found in a few parts of Greece. The Monastery celebrates twice a year, at 25 March and on 15 August.
The golden variety of the Virgin
Patmos – The epitaph of the Virgin
The Virgin Mary in Kato Koufonisi
Koufonisia – By boat to Panagia
On the 15th of August, the Virgin Mary celebrates in Kato Koufonisi. After the service, food is offered by the residents and then they are transported by boats which compete for who will pass the other to Pano Koufonisi.
Panagia Faneromeni in the village of Kochilou Andros
Man's – Panagia Faneromeni
Faneromeni Castle is one of the most characteristic places in the area of Korthio, on a hill near the village of Kochilou. On the 15th of August, a big festival takes place here at Panagia Faneromeni, located inside the Castle.
Panagia Kremasti
Rhodes – Panagia Kremasti
And on the island of Rhodes the cult, the traditions and legends that accompany the Virgin Mary arouse our interest and admiration. Undoubtedly the most traditional festival of the Virgin Mary on the island of Rhodes, is the festival of Kremasti.
Panagia in Pyrgi, Chios
Chios Tower – Religious obsession and feasting
In Pyrgi there are 50 churches. On the 15th of August, is the local festival that begins with the religious events in the church of Panagia and ends in the square, where "Pyrgousikos" is danced, dance fast and happy.
Holy Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Thassos
Thassos – The table of the Virgin
Potatoes, rice, beef and stew includes the meal presented at the large table attended by all the faithful who have gathered at the Holy Temple of the Assumption of the Virgin, at Panagia of Thassos, in the village that took its name from the Virgin. After the procession of the image, accompanied by a multi-member band, everyone gathers in the churchyard, in order to ignite the feast, with dances from all over Greece, appetizers and wine.
Panagia in Zagorochoria
Zagorochoria – Epirus festivals to honor the Virgin Mary
Famous throughout Greece are the festivals of the Virgin Mary that take place on the 15th of August in Zagorochoria. In villages like Vitsa and Tsepelovo, The events in memory of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary are three days long and offer the opportunity for an endless feast with traditional continental dances.. And while the first two days the party is open to everyone, on the third and last day of joy and merriment, the locals have the first say, with local purposes and continental dances.
