Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (Tinos)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary on the island of Tinos is an Eastern Orthodox church and the most popular Christian pilgrimage site in the Eastern Mediterranean. The church is most commonly referred to in Greek as Panaghia tis Tinou (the Tinos Madonna), the Megalochari (She of the Great Grace) or simply I Chari Tis (Her Grace).

The church was built mostly of white marble in Renaissance style, in 1823, following the excavation of an old icon of the Annunciation, purportedly made of colored wax by the Apostle St. Luke, which was discovered following the vision of a nun, Pelagia, who was lated sanctified. The church was inaugurated in 1830 and occupies the site of an older Paleochristian chapel of St. John, which was in turn built on the ruins of a temple of Dionysus.

Although the church's eponymous holy day is on the day of the Annunciation, on March 25th, the actual pilgrimage takes place on August 15th, for the Feast of the Dormition. The annual pilgrimage is made in honor of the holy icon of the Panaghia Evangelistria (Our Lady of Good Tidings), believed to still perform miracles. The icon is by now almost completely encrusted in gold, silver and jewels, and it is formally paraded through Tinos town on that day. Both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic inhabitants of Tinos participate in the August 15th celebration.