Saint George’s Church
Visiting the church of Saint George you experience a flashback to 1870, the year it was completed. Pozzolanic ash, ancient marble, columns of Byzantium design, all possessed by years of strength embrace you with history. The marvelous iconostasis at the altar bestowed in 1890, exposes the icon of the patron saint of the island, Saint George and is inscribed with signatures of the six pirate smugglers who commissioned it. Whitewashed with blue elements, the church dominates Chora from the center of the village, halfway on its cobblestone road. It’s accompanied by mature pine trees that offer shade in front of the courtyard for those who want to sit on the stone wall and gaze at the “peratzada” or passersby as the locals call them.
On April 23rd, the island’s patron saint is majestically worshiped with a church service accompanied by chants and praises of glory. A procession of the Holy Icon along with the Epitaph takes place through the village. The Epitaph contains fragments of the Holy Relics of Saint George and the whole island is blessed.
When you view the Holy Relics of Saint George, you may feel a deep sentiment as was felt in 2000 when the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem endowed them to the Church years after they had been requested by Father Stathis.
