In Parikia, the capital of Paros, just a few minutes away by foot from the port, resides the imposing church of Panagia Ekatontapiliani. It is one of the most important and best preserved Christian temples of the Greek area. According to the tradition of Paros, the church was built in the middle of the 4th century by Saint Helen or by Constantine the Great, who fulfilled his mother's vow. In the same location existed a temple, prior to the 4th century. In this temple, Saint Helen worshipped God when she passed from Paros, on her journey to the Holy Land in order to find the Holy Cross. The legend says that St. Helen made a vow to the image of the Virgin Mary, that if she managed to find the Holy Cross, she would build in her grace a larger and brighter temple in Paros. Saint Helen fulfilled her vow, but a great part of the temple was destroyed, probably by fire and was reconstructed by Justinian, in the middle of the 6th century.



The name of the Church of Ekatontapiliani or "Katapoliani" derives from the term "katapola", that means "in the city", as it probably "shows" the place where the ancient city of Paros was located. Today, the official name of the church is Ekatontapiliani, and is connected to a legend: "Ninety nine visible doors exist in the Katapoliani. The 100th is closed and cannot be seen. It will be seen and opened, when the Greeks take back the City"... The City here refers to the city of Constantinople or, as it is called today, Istanbul, in Turkey. However, newer researches of the sources have shown that both denominations (Ekatontapyliani or Katapola) are modern and have been in parallel use since the middle of the 16th century. The name "Katapola" is mentioned for the first time in a memorandum on Naxos and Paros of the Duke of the Archipelago, John IV, of the year 1562, while the second name, "Ekatontapiliani", is mentioned in a document by Patriarch Theoliptos II of the year 1586. Today the official name of the church is Ekatontapiliani. The Church of Ekatontapiliani, all these centuries, was not always in his Justinian form. Under the rule of the Frankish and the Ottoman, it experienced many disasters and loots.



It suffered major disasters during the raid of Hajredin Barbarossa in Paros, in 1537, and later, during the raid of Mustafa Kaplan Pasha in 1666. The greatest damages were caused from the earthquakes of 1733, during which the northern and Western part and part of the dome collapsed. During its repair, in which the Parian ruler of Moldovlassia, Nikolaos Mavrogenis, had a significant financial contribution, a lot of additions were made in and out of the temple, which distorted completely its imposing form, reduced its luminosity and gave its façade a peculiar form, with a monumental gate and three Aegean steeples. In 1959, however, the professor and academic Anastasios Orlandos began the restoration of the church in his Justinian form and in 1966 he completed it. The whole building complex of Ekatontapiliani of Paros includes the main church of the Holy Mary with its internal chapels of Agioi Anargiroi, of St. Philipp and of Osia Theoctistis (who lived and slept in the temple of Katapola in the 9th century), and externally, the Basilica of St. Nicholas, the Church of St. Theodosia, the Chapel of St. Demetrius, the baptistery which is a special place, as well as the surrounding cells which protected the whole complex.



Today, the visitor-pilgrim enters the church through the large central iron door of the complex and immediately finds himself in its atrium from where the view of the façade of the main church, with its large gate and the pediment above it, is really impressive. In this atrium there are few pillars and various marbles of the base of the once-existing there "bottle of cleansing", where the faithful washed symbolically their hands before entering the temple. In the Sanctuary of Ekatontapiliani are located two of the most important monuments of the temple, which, as they are rarely found together in other old Christian temples, they acquire a great importance. These are the Ciborium (marble capstone of the Altar) and the Synthrono (small amphitheatre, in the depth of the Sanctuary). Finally, it is worth mentioning that a part of the relics of the church of Ekatontapiliani is housed in the Byzantine Museum of Paros, which is open to visitors.


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