Zoodochos Pigi Monastery Andros

The Zoodochos Pigi Monastery (in Greek means vital source) is considered the largest of the whole island of Andros and is located about seven kilometers from the port of Gavrio in the northwestern part.

An imposing fortress whose construction period is still unknown but according to Dionysus Orthodox Archbishop originally from Andros as well as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantine and Metropolitan of Xanthi once the monastery in 842 was a Byzantine school and only later was it transformed into a place of cult.

Let's say that the recognized date of the foundation dates back to 1325 confirmed by a splendid silver icon with the date engraved and a document dated January 31st 1400.

Inside the monastery there are precious images from the 14th and 16th centuries, a rich library of texts and manuscripts, a museum of sacred objects and vestments and a collection of prehistoric tools. From the classic Byzantine style it preserves a finely carved wooden screen and a painting of the post-Byzantine period.

From the locals, the Monastery of Zoodochos Pigi is called the “Santa” as it is dedicated to the Virgin and on the first Friday after Easter Sunday there is an important and heartfelt celebration.

Before leaving the island of Andros, the Franks destroyed the abbey but two monks Makarios Dellagamatika and Statonikos Strategopoulos decided to restore it in 1578. Later another Iannikios monk, member of the Filiki Etairia the Society of Friendship, a secret congregation which worked for the overthrow of the Ottoman dominion for the formation of an independent Greek state, worked on fortifying the monastery and creating new spaces until 1831, making sure that up to the seventeenth century it could permanently house up to one hundred monks who later became fifty-one of 1836. In 1928 the Monastery of Zoodochos Pigi was transformed into a convent for women which still hosts nuns today.

As per tradition, around the beautiful church, there is a legend linked to its water source considered miraculous. Its exact positioning is due to the vision of a common man who, wandering around and extremely thirsty, saw a goat pass by with a wet beard, thus making him assume that a spring existed nearby. Having found the fountain, a woman suddenly appears and reveals to him that she is the Virgin Mary. The man tells the Virgin that he has a problem with his eyes that does not allow him to see well and Mary advises him to wash them with water from the spring and here by a miracle the man completely regains his sight. In the meantime, in another position the craftsmen worked to build the Monastery but by magic every night the tools disappeared and in the end they understood that all this was the work of the Virgin who revealed to the man to warn the artisans that the Monastery had to be built right where the source was, which they immediately did and which today gives us this fantastic site.

You have to follow the road that leads from Gavrio to Batsi and after Kypri beach turn left and follow the uphill path up to the Monastery. If, on the other hand, you love trekking there is a dirt path that starts from Agios Kyrprianos.

A historical monument of great value for the island that you must remember to mark among the things to see in Andros, a real shame to lose it.