AFIONAS

AGIOS STYLIANOS CAVE CHURCH

Below Afionas the famous double beach Porto Timoni is situated. It is in essence two beaches which are separated by a narrow strip of land. The left one is called Limni and has blue waters and the right one is Porto Timoni with darker waters. You can reach them after a 30 minutes walk. During the walk you will see ruins of fortifications which were built in the Middle Ages in order to be protected from the invasions of pirates. If you continue on the same path towards the end of the peninsula, you will find the small church of Agios Stylianos inside a cave.

One story about the cave tells of a resident of the village that brought his sheep to graze in the area. He was looking for one of them when he accidentally found a small icon of Saint Stylianos among some twigs. He thought he really should take it to the village and put it in the village church so everyone could see and worship it. Surprisingly, the next day the icon was missing from its place and everyone thought that someone had stolen it. But that was not the case.

Once more the shepherd found the icon at the same place and again he brought it to the village.This time, however, the residents decided that it would be better to keep it were it was found, that is to say in the small cave, where it still is today.

As time goes by the incident became known in the surrounding areas. Once a monk from the village of Kavadades asked for permission to stay in the area with the prospect of creating a monastery there at some time. The inhabitants agreed and took care to build a small house for him with a well, and planted a small orchard and a garden to make life on this remote side of the Afionas peninsula as comfortable as possible.

In vain though. The monk’s stay was not successful and he left the area. The monk’s presence is said to be felt in the ruins of his house. 

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