Tiling the Narthex at "Panagitsa"

Of our six chapels, the most frequently used--by far--is that of "Panagitsa," which is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. The church's history is long but not clear. It was the main church of a monastery during the 18th-19th centuries, but some--including a professor of Christian archaeology--suspect that it is much older.

In any event, it was damaged before or during World War II and the Germans used it to keep their livestock. Eventually, a local woman, who recently passed away, came to take care of the church during the 1980s, and it was rebuilt, although on smaller scale. Of the many projects yet to be done there, one was the tiling of the narthex. Some of the local women recently decided to get together and donate money to the parish to buy tiles and have them installed. Above is a photo before, and below a photo after.