Taxiarchis Monastery in Lesvos

Mandamados is a fairly large village about 27 kilometres east of Molyvos. Just outside Mandamados lies the Monastery of Taxiarchis which is well worth a visit.

When we were going to visit Lesvos for the first time, we told it to our landlord on Samos. She became excited and she said that we under no circumstances could leave Lesvos without seeing the amazing icon in the Monastery of Taxiarchis. She said that the icon was created by an unidentified material. Only such a thing makes you curious. There are others who say that the icon is made of human blood.

The courtyard of Taxiarchis Monastery.

According to the legend (constantly these legends), there was another monastery nearby for a long time ago. The monastery was attacked by pirates and all monks except one was murdered. The surviving monk climbed up on the monastery's roof. The pirates did not give up, they tried to climb up on the roof to kill him too.

Taxiarchis Monastery.

But every time they were on their way up, a storm came and pulled them away. Finally they gave up and the monk could breathe freely. A miracle had happened. To thank the archangel (Taxiarchis), the monk made an icon of clay, and of blood from his slaughtered monk friends. It is the icon that today performs miracles in the monastery's church.

White storks nest outside the monastery, as in so many other places in Lesvos.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the icon because it is not allowed to take pictures of it. I have seen many icons in Greece, but none like this, so who knows, there may be a grain of truth in the story of its origin. The icon is not painted, it looks like it is made of clay, or something...

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