Church of Panagia (Virgin Mary)

Folegandros island- Easter Fireworks on Sunday

Heavy fireworks-like bombardment at Folegandros island! Every Easter Sunday the litany with the icon of Panagia (Virgin Mary) arrives at the Kastro district. No one is allowed to cross the street. The silence is interrupted by the first burst of firecrackers. A second later the warlord-locals from the roofs, empty their pockets with amazing amount of handmade firecrackers. At the end people applaud and the litany visits every house in the Kastro area.

On Easter Sunday, Folegandros is blooming and all the houses are open: they are waiting for the blessing of the icon of the Virgin Mary.
Easter is celebrated here in a completely unique way, not found anywhere else in Greece: In an atmosphere of joy, with songs, good wishes, festivities and fireworks, every house on the island welcomes the procession with the icon of the Panagia, and wine, raki, sweets and delicacies are offered to all the people accompanying the procession.
On Easter Sunday, the icon passes through Hora and the streets of Kastro, where the island's youngsters welcome the icon with bursts of fireworks. On Monday the icon travels to Ano Meria and all the solitary farmhouses, and on Tuesday it heads for Petoussis and Livadi, ending up in Karavostassis; in the port, all the caiques, boats and yachts moored there are blessed along with all the homes. In the evening, the icon returns to the Panagia monastery, where it remains until the following Easter.

Exaposteilarion of the service dedicated to the icon of the Panagia Pammakaristos

Excerpts from the Choir's DVD Panagia Pammakaristos, a tribute to the icon and dedicated to the Christians of Constantinople and His All Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I. Joining the choir were Dr. Elie Azar and Dr. Michalis Apostolis.

To obtain a copy of the full DVD with a narrative of the history of the icon and the service, email asbmh@pitt.edu

For more information about Byzantine Music in Pittsburgh:

DJI Phantom 3 fly over Saint Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church

Fly over with drone

Εκκλησίες της Παναγίας στην Ελλάδας μας

Ένα φωτογραφικό Σεργιάνι σε μερικές από τις Εκκλησίες της Παναγίας στην Ελλάδας μας!

First Vlog, Showing My Icons

This is my first vlog. Here I show off my icons. Hopefully I'll get more comfortable with the camera after this one.