Our Lady of Tinos

Our Lady of Tinos (Greek: Παναγία Ευαγγελίστρια της Τήνου, romanized: Panagía Evangelístria tēs Tēnou, lit. 'The All-Holy Bringer of Good News', and Greek: Μεγαλόχαρη της Τήνου, romanized: Megalócharē tēs Tēnou, lit. 'She of Great Grace'), officially the Holy Church of Panagia Evaggelistria of Tinos, and also known as the Evangelistria Church, is a Greek Orthodox church and Greece's major Marian shrine, located in the town of Tinos on the island of Tinos, on the Cyclades archipelago, in the South Aegean region of Greece.

The complex is built around a miraculous icon which according to tradition was found after the Virgin appeared to the nun, Pelagia, and revealed to her the place where the icon was buried. The icon is widely believed to be the source of numerous miracles.^[1] It is by now almost completely encased in silver, gold, and jewels, and is commonly referred to as the Megalócharē ("[She of] Great Grace") or simply the Chárē Tēs ("Her Grace"). By extension the church is often called the same, and is considered a protectress of seafarers and healer of the infirm.^[2]

The icon was found on the very first days after the creation of the modern Greek State, henceforth Our Lady of Tinos was declared the patron saint of the Greek nation. The icon was at the time thought to be the handwork of Saint Luke, the Evangelist, and a nationwide fund collection was carried out for the building of a church to house it.^[2]

The church was designed by Efstratios Kalonaris, an architect from Tinos, in the Renaissance Revival style. It is a three-aisled domed basilica, with the transepts separated by arcades with imposing marble columns, with an ornately carved and gilded altar. The facade has two superimposed rows of arches, decorated in the neoclassical style, a bell tower, and two flights of stairs that lead to the main entrance.^[3] The church was inaugurated in 1830. Since then it constitutes the major Christian pilgrimage in Greece, akin to Lourdes in France or Fatima in Portugal. The church receives a vast number of donations in silver and gold votives each year; these are auctioned and used for charities.^[2]

The church is officially dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (Theotokos). The major feast of the church, however, is on 15 August when the Dormition of the Virgin Mary^[2] is commemorated by the Greek Orthodox Church, following the strong tradition of the Aegean Islands where the Dormition is grandly celebrated in mid-August as the principal summer feast.

The second finding of the icon took place on December 18, 1842, according to the Old Church Orthodox calendar in force until 1924 in Greece, corresponding to 31 December in the Julian calendar.

• Church of Greece
• List of churches in Greece
• Shrines to Mary, mother of Jesus

• Dubisch, Jill (1995). In A Different Place: pilgrimage, gender and politics at a Greek island shrine. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02968-7. selected pages at Google Books

Media related to Our Lady of Tinos at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (in English)