THE LATEST IN AZOGIRES

This past Month has flown by so fast it's unbeliveable; so many things happened, so many friends visited, and I, as always, had no time to record any of these wonderful moments.


Events such as Pops' birthday party. Pops is from England, he visits us every year and this time he was 76 years of age. But he still has the heart of a youngster and friends of all nationalities came to wish him a long and prosperous life - and they all made a promise to be here next year for Pops' 77th birthday.

The other most astonishing thing that my eyes witnessed was an 82 year old gentleman by the name of JOHN TALLECK walking up the 7 Kilometers long Azogires - Paleohora road together with his lovely wife CRIS MORRISON, complete with backpacks under the hot sun. This Dude was hiking up the Hill like a twenty year old! I am telling you, even I could not keep up with him? And at my advanced age, I know that's a worry.

The Russian Church

How did a Russian Church end up in Azogires?

The church was built in memory of a man who, before his death, had requested it be built in its present location. The church was designed by the man’s brother and his family arranged for his wishes to be fulfilled and the church built. The original plan was to call it Agios Eftixis but since there was already a church in the area with the same name, the local priest prevailed on the benefactors to change the name.

The priest persuaded them to adopt the current name for the church because while he had been visiting the grave of that saint in Euboia, where the body of the saint who died in 1740 is said to lie uncorrupted, he allegedly saw a “possessed” boy being cured. He says he saw the boy being brought to the tomb of the saint and while the boy was put on the grave he started floating a few centimetres above the floor and acting in a crazy manner. When the boy left the church he was fine and cured. On the strength of this the priest persuaded the family to name the church after St John the Russian.

More details of St John the Russian can be found here:

http://www.roca.org/OA/39/39g.htm

Although there was apparently no record of there previously having been a church on the site of the Russian church, during the construction three graves were unearthed, one of which was believed to have been a Byzantine grave with a plastered interior.