The Chapel of Agioi Anargyroi in Alonnisos

The picturesque chapel was built in the 13th century to serve the needs of a small monastery that functioned as a metochi (dependency) of the Holy Monastery of Great Lavra on Mount Athos. The chapel was once used by the few monks who lived in the nearby cells, the ruins of which are still visible today. The area surrounding the monastery was enclosed within a 500-meter radius by a large stone wall known as the “Ampara.” 

However, the small monastery had very limited income, and so the monks were eventually forced to abandon it. The legend surrounding its creation goes as follows: two locals from Alonnisos found the icon of the Holy Unmercenaries (Agioi Anargyroi) on the beach of Tourkoneri. When they decided to build the chapel at the spot where they had found it, the icon miraculously moved on its own to the location where the church was ultimately constructed. 

Abandonment and restoration

By the late 1960s, the first signs of structural instability in the building became apparent, but – for unknown reasons – instead of opting for restoration, it was deemed appropriate to build a new concrete chapel right next to it. The use of this new structure accelerated the deterioration of the Byzantine building, which was now deprived of human care.

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 The restoration process, which faced serious technical challenges due to the long period of abandonment, finally began in the mid-1990s. The slope of the hillside on which the chapel stood had to be stabilized by constructing terraces to combat erosion. The tiled roof was made using the traditional “fish scale” technique. The visible side of each tile is rounded and resembles a fish scale. The aesthetic result is truly exceptional. The completion of the roof was undertaken by distinguished stone masons from Pelion. 

To reach the chapel, you’ll need to follow a beautiful and very short footpath. Just below the chapel lies the quite inaccessible beach of Agioi Anargyroi.

Text: Giannis Drenogiannis