Saint Vlasios

The church of Saint Vlasios, located within the cemetery - opposite the village of Ascra - is the penultimate stop on our tour of the Valley of the Muses.

We don't know exactly when this church was built, but from the ancient plaques at the entrance and the southeast corner of the church, it appears to be Byzantine and even of the Justinian era, 6th century AD.

It is of basilica style and contains wonderful hagiographies. It is worth noting the iconostasis, which reveals that this church was once dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This happened at the end of the 17th century - when the village was moved to its present location and received the name Old Virgin Mary. At that time, the church of Saint Vlasios was converted into a parish church and was given the name Assumption of Virgin Mary, to correspond the name of the church to the name of the village. At that time, the iconography of the iconostasis must have been changed and the icon of the saint was placed on the right.

With the erection of a new parish church of thechurch of the Assumption of Virgin
Μary in 1870, the name of Saint Vlasios was reintroduced to this church. The church celebrates on February 11th.

Pilgrims can obtain drinking water from the so-called Fountain in Alonia which has been renovated.