Tourist destinations that stand out for their religious pilgrimages are the pole of attraction during the summer season throughout island Greece. The fifteenth of August may have been identified with Tinos and the pilgrimage to the Holy Church of Panagia Evangelistria and Paros at Panagia Ekatontapyliani, but Patmos and Lipsi claim their fair share of visitors attracted by the religious monuments.

Thanks to the religious monuments, Patmos is already recognized as a world center for pilgrimage tourism. As UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Chora, the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse and the Monastery of St. John the Evangelist, Patmos has gained worldwide recognition and this is reflected in the increase in the number of foreign visitors. Of the dozens of pilgrimages on the island of Apocalypse, the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse and the Holy Annunciation Monastery stand out.

Located on a hill between Skala and Chora, the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse is one of the attractions not only of Patmos, but of Christianity all over the world. This cave was the hideout of Jesus’ disciple John in 95 AD. when the emperor Domitian exiled him to Patmos, punishing him for preaching the word of God in Ephesus. But, as John himself testifies, he arrives on Patmos not as a failed exile or a political prisoner in troubled times, but as an exile “on a spiritual mission”, continuing to spread the Word and Essence of God, always with the evidence mentioned. on the official website of the municipality.

Today, the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse has been transformed into a place of worship, where the pilgrim is given the opportunity to see the place where the Apocalypse was written, touch the triple cleft in the rock, and work on the place where the evangelist was. rested, and also to touch the pits in the rock, from where he held on to rise, and the lectern of Prochorus was still created at the height of human growth.

The Holy Monastery of Evangelismos, the largest nunnery on the island, is located in the southwestern part of the island and rises above the Bay of Gardens, as it is built on the edge of a cliff.

In 1613, the rector of the John the Theologian Monastery built a skete on this site, dedicating it to the holy Evangelist Luke, who healed him of a fatal illness. In 1937, Elder Amphilochius Makris transformed the skete into a monastery, building new buildings and dedicating it to the Annunciation of the Mother of God.

The icons and frescoes of the monastery date back to the 15th-17th centuries. An important role was also played by the nun Olimpiada, a student of the famous hagiographer Fotis Kontoglu, who painted a significant number of the icons of the monastery, at the same time passing the art on to her students.

The monastery played an important role during the Italian occupation, as the nuns, in an effort to preserve the Greek language, taught it to small children.

Today the monastery is inhabited by nuns. Their main activity is embroidery with the infamous Patinio stitch, which is said to have survived from the Byzantine era. Their other occupations are gardening and beekeeping, and the monastery develops a great charitable activity.

Patmos is betting on new tourism products to expand its tourist season as well as increase tourism revenue. As the island’s mayor Lefteris Pentas points out to the Athens Macedonian News Agency, Patmos already offers its visitors a range of experiences beyond religious tourism. Walking tourism, like the island’s gastronomy, has already taken root among its visitors, and the mayor is betting on strengthening sea tourism, in particular cruises.

Patmos is the second cruising destination after Rhodes, although the island of the apocalypse prevents the cruise ship from entering the port, and the Lanza disembarks visitors today. At this point, Mr. Pentes emphasized that a decision had been made to modernize the port on the island, and it would be on its way to implementation in order to moor normally in the port at the berth. Thus, Patmos is expected to become a magnet for more cruise ships, with all the ensuing consequences for increasing tourist revenue.

The program of action for the next period includes the modernization of the road network and the infrastructure of the island as a whole, with an emphasis on the rational management of water resources.

With about 5,000 rooms, Patmos at its zenith accommodates 18,000 guests. It is characteristic that at the peak of the tourist season, in August, there are no vacancies. Tourism also drives the local economy on this island, with residents relying directly or indirectly on tourism. For this reason, the expansion of the tourist flow is a request of the local community, which is counting on financial support for tourism during the winter days.

Staying true to its authentic character and traditional architecture, Patmos combines sophistication with world-class monuments, and for this reason it is chosen by visitors from all over the world. Patmos is of majestic beauty, says Mr. Pendes, and for this reason it has a very large number of repeat visitors. At the same time, many Italians have invested in property in the “City” of Patmos, and every summer the island is flooded with visitors from Italy. Staying on the tourist map of the island, nautical tourism on the island owes its heyday to visitors from Turkey, as the marina is packed with yachts from the neighboring country.

A few miles east of Patmos is Lipsi, which has recently become a pole of attraction for pilgrimage tourism, associated with the image of the Virgin Mary. The specific icon of Panagia tou Arosa is located in Greece, in a small Byzantine church built in Leipsos in 1600 by monks from Patmos. They named it “Our Lady of Mercy” because of the relic it kept. The image of the Virgin Mary, who does not hold Christ in her arms, as usual, but the Cross with Jesus on it. The church, built in the Byzantine style, has a low dome, irregular vaults, few and narrow windows. The passage of time left intact the church, which venerated the holy relic, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, but left the neighboring cells of the monks. According to local tradition, in April 1943, a resident of Lipsi placed several lilies on the image. They dried out and remained dry in the image for months.

But as the feast approached, veins and juices began to appear on the dried lilies. In fact, before the day of the holiday on August 23 – the nine days of Panagia – many buds sprouted. This miracle is repeated every year, according to Eleni Hermanides APE-MBE, who also volunteers to take care of the opening and closing of the Temple. According to him, these lilies, the lilies of the Virgin Mary, are collected after her feast and presented as a blessing to pilgrims.

Eleni Hermanidou reports that the temple is visited by visitors from all over the world every day. According to him, from Canada, Sweden, England, Italy and other countries come to bow to the image of the Virgin Mary. Eleni Germanidou, a teacher by profession, left Serres, where she was born, and came to a desert island to practice her profession. More than two decades have passed, and Eleni Germanidou did not regret her choice. After retiring, he voluntarily dedicated most of his personal time to “The Grace of the Virgin”, as he himself says. Eleni Hermanidou welcomes visitors and relentlessly talks about the history of the church and Panagia tou Aros. For those who find themselves on a secluded island, the visiting time is from 9.30 am to 13.30 pm.

A sandy island that has become known for its unique beaches as well as for the municipality’s sustainability efforts. Since the municipality, as Mayor Fotis Maggos explains to APE-MPE, does not allow the construction of swimming pools in holiday homes or rental housing, at the same time, the beaches of the island are not occupied by beach umbrellas. The reason is simple. The municipality wants the beaches to remain unchanged due to human interference and therefore has not allowed parasols and sun loungers to be installed on them.

RES – OIE