Εκκλησάκι Αγίας Βαρβάρας

Chapel of Agia Varvara

Useful Information

Location:	Argostolion 281 00. (38.1815111, 20.5044940)
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Church Gorges
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Chapel of Agia Varvara, Argostolion 281 00, Tel: +30-.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1912	a small child fell from a great height into the gorge where the church is today.
1935	icon disappears, most likely stolen.

Description

Εκκλησάκι Αγίας Βαρβάρας (Chapel of Agia Varvara, Saint Barbara-Prokopata) is located in a gorge named Φαράγγι Αγίας Βαρβαρας (Gorge of Agia Varvara). Located east of the city of Argostoli, it is only 800 m from the sea, at the minor road to the hamlet Προκοπάτα (Prokopata). The cave church is a typical Greek orthodox chapel and not really special, but the location is quite exceptional. The road crosses the narrow gorge on a single lane iron bridge, and the church is located under the bridge. On one end of the bridge there are a few parking places, and a trail leads down and across the bridge to the church. The church is an operational Greek Orthodox church, and as such it is open for visitors. Be respectful, and make a small donation. You should avoid the site on 03-DEC and 04-DEC, because the 4th is the day of Saint Barabara and the small church is crowded by locals.

Around 1912, a little child fell from a great height into the gorge where the church is today. The child was uninjured and said that a woman dressed in white was with him when he fell and that she helped him to land safely on the ground. From this day the villagers saw a burning flame on the spot where he landed. Regardless of the weather condition, the flame never went out.
A few years later, the villagers found the courage to explore the site and found an icon of Saint Barbara in the cave behind the fire. They believed this was a miracle and she had been the woman dressed in white. When a great epidemic broke out in Argostoli and killed many people. The locals took the icon to Argostoli, and she stopped a great epidemic. Since then, the Saint is known as the protector of Argostoli.
In the cave a chapel was built which hosted the holy icon of Saint Barbara. The icon was considered miraculous, and the locals practiced the custom of "seedlings", offering boiled wheat ("sperna") in a knitted basket ("kanistri") to the Saint. This took place every year on the Εσπερινός (Vespers, Eve of the Holiday) and on the day of the celebration of Saint Barbara, the 04-DEC. The pilgrims crossed the bridge on foot on the eve and on the day of the celebration, holding the "kanistria" with the "sperna". After the ceremony, each participating believer threaded 40 cooked grains of wheat onto a string. Those threads decorated the icon of the Saint until the following year.

The icon disappeared in 1935, most likely it was stolen. But still the chapel celebrates on December 4th every year. The believers boil wheat and offer it to the congregation, in memory of the salvation of the island from the epidemic.

The church is not only built into a cave, both cave and church are located in a gorge. The Gorge of Agia Varvara is quite narrow and deep, formed in medium to thick bedded Upper Cretaceous (100.5-66.0 My) limestones. The gorge is only 300 m long, but quite exceptional. The obvious reason for its existence is the uplift of the island through eustatic movements. Due to the higher drop, the energy of the water was also higher, which increased erosion. As a result, the river cut faster into the rock, following faults and fractures in the limestone caused by intense tectonics as a result of the convergent plates.

The Gorge of Agia Varvara is Geosite No 12 of the Geopark Kefalonia-Ithaca UNESCO Global Geopark.