Religious Trips to Greece
Filed under World Events
Religious trip to Tinos
Venue: Tinos, Greece
Schedule: 30th January 2009
Amongst all of the reasons which makes travelers embark on a trip to foreign shores the reason of going for a religious pilgrimage takes a higher spot. Religion has since ages driven people around the world in order to allow them to visit different places of worship which are considered to be auspicious according to their respective religion. The Christians head to Vatican while it is Mecca for the Muslims. One such pilgrimage which is very important for the Greek Christians involves visiting the town of Tinos. When seen on any other time of the year this small island destination of Tinos reverberates in the true essence calmness, peace and solace. But when the pilgrimage is on then it feels as if the entire country of Greece has decided to set foot on this small destination.
What brings in Greek Christians here on the island of Tinos is the presence of the church of Megolohari which is considered to be the most symbolic and important spot of worship by the Greek orthodox Christians. Placed within this church is the icon of Virgin Mary which is supposed to possess miraculous healing powers capable of relieving the patient of all his miseries and sufferings. There is a very interesting legend behind this church which was responsible for the arousal of faith for this church amongst the Greek Christians. The legend goes that one night a nun at the church had a dream where in Virgin Mary appeared and asked her to convey a message on her behalf to the elders of the town. She asked the elders to begin digging a particular spot of land in search of a holy statue. The nun in the morning dutifully conveyed the message and excavation began on the pre determined spot. Soon enough a statue of Virgin Mary was revealed in the earth and mud. This kneeled statue of Virgin Mary with folded arms was since then referred to as Panagia Evangelistria.
The news of the discovery of the holy icon spread throughout like wild fire and soon enough incredible numbers of devotes started pouring in on Tinos on a trip to seek the blessings of Virgin Mary. A large number of incidents started coming in light where people reported of having got freed from their miseries as a result of the blessing of the icon. This propelled the pilgrimage to Tinos to increase multi folds. There are certain dates identified throughout the year when devotees visit the island to seek the blessing of the icon. These dates are 30th January, 23rd July, 15th August and the 25th of March. The people visiting the island during these times are a curious mix of determined religious individuals as well as those who are not so much devout. Travelers prefer to stay on the island for a few days once they have had their chance to pray to the Virgin Mary and enjoy their time on the island.
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