KALAMATA CATHEDRAL, GREECE

In the heart of the historic centre of the Greek city of Kalamata (well-known for its olives) is the Byzantine Metropolitan and Cathedral Church of the Presentation of Christ. This cathedral, the pride of all Messenians, was founded on January 25, 1860 and inaugurated on 19 August 1873 by the then Archbishop of Messenia Procopius Georgiadis.

The church houses the miraculous icon of "Our Lady of the Visitation", this being the Protectress and Patron Saint of Kalamata, and the whole of Messenia. According to the story, during the period of Turkish rule, the icon was found in a barn by a stableman, after a vision he saw. The remarkable thing about it was that while the back was severely burned, the front of the icon was intact. Since 1889, every year a procession of the holy icon through the town takes place.

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme.