The church
is a three-aisled basilica with a transverse barrel-vault.
The east side ends in three semi-hexagonal apses while a narthex was later added to the west. The walls are adorned
on the outside with a great variety of brick and tile decoration, including an inscription inset in a brick. The interior is richly
decorated with wall paintings dated to the 18th century.
The monastery was built in the 13th century, by Michael Doukas Comnenos, the Despot of Epiros. In the
period of the Turkish occupation it was renamed to "Panagia tis Vryseos" (Holy Virgin of the spring), because it was
located near a spring. In the sigillium of Patriarch Jeremian II (1591) it is mentioned that the Paregoritissa Monastery
became the metochion (dependence) of the Monastery of Kato Panaghia.
The roof and the windows of the north and south sides were reconstructed in 1969. The restoration of the
wall paintings began in 1994, and in 1995 the roof was replaced and the wall masonry was consolidated. The restoration
work is still in progress. The monument is now used as a convent for nuns.
Map & Distances
Altitude:
30 meters
Longitude:
20o 59' 20.57" E
Latitude:
39o 08' 41.69" N
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