People of all ages from Rodopi, Xanthi and from many parts of northern Greece, even some Muslims, go to the Monastery of Vathyrryakos, which is situated 15 kilometers outside Komotini, to worship the miraculous icon on the surface of which, is depicted the Virgin Mary the Vrefokratousa or, according to others, Glyfofilousa, and was found at the place where the vineyard station is now located, in the so-called “Kir Tsiflik”.
It is, however, impressive, the choice of many faithful to walk the distance that separates Komotini and the surrounding settlements to the Monastery on foot, fulfilling in this way their vow.
Hiking starts in the morning of 21, 22 or 23 of August and the distance is usually covered in three to four hours, so the faithful are on time for the divine service in the Monastery.
The Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni, known to the locals as “Fatiriaka”, is one of the few monasteries that someone meets in Thrace and constitutes a meeting place of the Thracians on the day of the celebration, which is the biggest celebration of the region and takes place on August 23rd.
“Kir Tsiflik”
According to the existing historical data and traditions, the Holy Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni Vathyrryakos, is located in the homonymous area of Panagia Vathyrryakos. This, according to the written testimonies of Byzantine historians and chronographers, was the name of the wider region. Panagia (Virgin Mary) was called the whole flat opening where, during the Byzantine Empire, there had been and many events of war.
Kir Tsiflik was part of the wider area of Vathyrryakos or Fatir-Giaka. It appeared to the Ottoman owner of this particular fiefdom, Amet Efentis Bosnakoglou, who for three nights saw a wonderful bright vision. He dug the earth and found the icon. Indeed, he devoted part of the fiefdom to the local church.
The icon was transferred to the Metropolitan Church of Komotini and at the point where it was found, a church was built later in the first decade of the 20th century by the benefactors Skouteris and Telonidis.
The choice to place the icon in the Metropolitan Church was remarkably made by the Virgin Mary itself. The icon was claimed by five Christian villages and then it was decided to place the icon in a carriage dragged by animals, which was miraculously stopped at the Metropolitan Church of Komotini, where the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary was enthroned.
In 1930, the Metropolitan Anthimos, built a small temple in the current space of the Holy Monastery and in 1955 the Metropolitan of Maronia, Timotheos, erected a Catholic of the Monastery more majestic, where he transported and installed the Holy Icon from the Metropolitan Church to its new Throne, as it is called, the Catholic of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni Vathyrryakos. The present temple of the Holy Monastery is a newer reconstruction of that holy temple that Metropolitan Timothy built, as well as the surrounding buildings.
What the tradition says
As mentioned by the Athenian News Agency, the chairman of the local council of the municipal unit of Aigiros of the municipality of Komotini, Anna Patronidou, where the Monastery of Vathyrryakos belongs geographically and administratively today, “the men during the first post-war years adorned their carriages with mulberry wood, and the women, dressed the arch that was created on the wagon by the mulberry wood, with the best hand-woven textile in order to protect them from the sun.
Together with the food that was being prepared for days in the villages' houses, the women were taking with them their best bedclothes, and started for the Monastery.
With the plant that the locals called “vromousa”, the men colored the horns of the animals and decorated the animals that were tied on the wagons, with various ornaments. As is happening today with a procession of cars, so at that time a great procession of carriages was made, to reach and pilgrim the icon of the Virgin Mary.
As soon as they arrived, each family took care to bind its own area around the monastery, so that they could have fun. There they slept and ate for three days, they had the trivets with them to heat their food, while the women stayed up the evening of the eve.
Today, after years of abandonment of the monastery, the Monastery has been inhabited by the three nuns, who, in collaboration with the Holy Metropolis of Maronia and Komotini, have given a new look to the place, embellishing the existing infrastructure and making it the most beautiful and accessible for the multitude of believers expected to flood it the next two days.
