TRYPIOTIS CHURCH

This Greek Orthodox church (Ιερός Ναός Αρχαγγέλου Μιχαήλ Τρυπιώτου/Ieros Naos Archangelou Michail Trypiotou) was erected in 1695 on the basis of a Latin-period church. It is dedicated to the archangel Michael "who opened a hole" (trypiotis), a reference to the miracle of Chône, in Phrygia, where the archangel is said to have diverted the river that threatened the inhabitants. From the Latin period, the building retains its triple nave and Gothic arches. The dome is Byzantine in style. On the left portal of the north facade (on Arch-Michail Street leading to Agios Savvas Church), the magnificently sculpted white marble lintel is surmounted by a^16th-century Venetian coat of arms. Beneath the narthex gallery, the main portal also features a lintel decorated with a Latin bas-relief depicting two manticores (lions with human faces). Above it is an ^18th-century painting of the dormition of the Virgin Mary, in which the archangel wrestles with the devil. The interior houses rich furnishings and a relic of St. Reginos (4th^century ), a Greek martyr from Skopelos. The main feature is the sumptuous carved and gilded wooden iconostasis, created in 1812-1816. It runs almost the full width (20 m), bearing 56 sacred images. The most interesting and oldest is that of the Holy Family. Located on the far right, it dates from the ^15th century and reveals a strong Italian influence. Next to it, on a separate panel, the icon of the Archangel Michael was executed by the Cypriot painter Pavlos the Hagiographer in 1634.