What I can see

It is a domed church of neo-Byzantine style, with two bell towers on either side of the main façade and an arcade between the staircase and the entrance. Inside the church, the icon of the Virgin Mary Eleoussa (merciful) stands out, which is a copy of the icon of the same name from Kykkos in Cyprus and – according to tradition – was created by the evangelist John.

What I can't see

It was built on the site of the older church of Agios Hypatios (1819). The origin of the name “Panagia Dexia” (Virgin Mary on the right) is not clear. According to tradition, there are 3 versions: 1) A monk saw in his dream that he had to place the icon in a church on the right, as one enters from the eastern walls of the city, 2) The Virgin Mary is depicted holding Jesus on the right side, in contrast to the usual iconography that holds him on the left, 3) A verbal alteration of “Panagia Dexa”, that is, the Virgin Mary who accepts everyone’s supplications and prayers.

Info

• Address: Panagias Dexias & Egnatia St.

Bibliography