A very irregular story about Monemvasia.

Although Monemvasia is famous for its castle, a not -so- familiar story happened there. We first heard it from lady Magda when we sat to eat and began 35 years ago.

At the center of the castle there is a white church with an amazing view and a cannon in front. The church bears the name of Christ and Elkomenos, the only church in Greece with that name, which is derived from the verb pull (elko - in Greek), which in ancient Greek means fetch.

Inside the church there is a specific area in which a Famous Hagiography stored under draconian security measures. The reason is that about 35 years during a rainy night, the hagiography was stolen by antiquities. The painting is not small at all but sizes up to a door. Therefore, the be able to carry it outside the thiefs had to cut it in 4-5 pieces. The pieces were found a few months later and has since been kept the Byzantine museum, where it was rehabilitated. Monemvasia claimed it back after 32 years under the effort of Metropolitis and given the necessary guarantees for its security. These guarantees was a special canopy which secures the image and cost over 200,000 euros. For someone to enter the cab, the manager of the temple has to enter a secret code, while inside there are cameras that scan the image every 2 seconds. HA ! And do not make the mistake of touching the glass, cause there is an alarm.

The value of the image cannot be really measured. It is among the largest and most important images of Palaiologian period and has been described as the greatest in portable Crucifixion picture.

It depicts a scene of the sulfur just after the death of Christ. In the center is Christ with eyes closed, in contrary to other hagiographies were his eyes are half open. The shape is surrounded by two symmetrical circles. On his left is Virgin Mary with the Myrofores while on the right sits John the Baptist. At the top is the inscription '' King of Glory '' and at the base a cave of the skull of Adam.

Serial story image .. Literally and figuratively!