The majestic church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos in Agiannis.
Plenty of icy water springs just below the church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos in Agiannis. Just as the water flows through five canals, one is very low, as if the water seems to be coming through the church.
In the 1960s Easter in Agiannis was a big festival. Easter to this day reminds us of the church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos. Young children impressed us with the majestic church of Agios Ioannis the Forerunner, where we went at Easter to hear Christ Resurrected in the churchyard, overlooking the plane tree and the waters of the forerunner in the large cistern. We still remember the wildflowers of the epitaph that we collected from the mountain peaks of the village, the psalms of barba Tasi of Aloupogiannis, the trapakiklia and the barrels, the holy light that we carefully brought to our grandmother at the end with candles, the muscovites from ovens and the songs of Agianni..
From astroskynouria-News
“According to many researchers, the church of Prodromos was built in the 14th – 15th century, while according to others it was built in the 16th or 17th century, due to the style of the interior of the church. According to a report from 1828, the church was 250 years old, ie it was built around 1578. However, it was probably built during the Byzantine years, as the form of the church and its masonry resembles many Byzantine monuments in the area (such as Loukous Monastery).
“According to tradition, Agiannis took his name from this church. Agios Ioannis is mentioned for the first time in the Chronicle of the Fall of Georgios Sfratzis in the year 1435 and flourished during the years of Ottoman rule. The tradition for the founding of the village is inextricably linked to the construction of the temple of Prodromos. Agios Ioannis was founded by shepherds who discovered the spring that is today under the church. The area of Agiannis was then an inaccessible forest. Immediately after the discovery, the shepherds made their way into the forest and built a fountain. Soon the shepherds and their families began to build their houses around the spring and built a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist. This event certainly happened long before 1435, probably during the Byzantine years. (see HISTORY OF SAINT JOHN – PART A)
The majestic church of Prodromos in Agiannis was renovated and became a patriarchal exarchate in 1638. A very important document of that time is a sigil of 1638. According to this document “the country of Agios Ioannis is declared a crossroads after the church of the same name” and was defined < In the church of Agios Ioannis, the church of Agios Vassilios is subject to the village >>. The proclamation was mediated by Agiannites merchants living in Istanbul. “
See the link for more. Author: Ioannis D. Kourbelis
ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΕΣ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΗ – AΓΙΟΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΣ ΠΡΟΔΡΟΜΟΣ
Sources
Πηγές
astrosgr.com/en / John Koutogiorgas
astrosgr.com 