The icon of madonna, according to tradition, was washed ashore after a great earthquake and climbed to the highest peak of the island. The icon was discovered on top of the hill by the inhabitants, who later built a monastery there and named it “Panagia Korifini” (“Mother of Lord Koryfini” in english).
They first tried to move the icon to the church located in the center of the village, but they always lose it and then find it again on top of the mountain. For that reason, they decided to build the monastery there and name it as such. During the first persecution in 1918, the inhabitants carried the icon with them to the depths of Asia Minor and placed it inside a church. However, every day they found it on the top of a mountain located in the surrounding area. When they returned to the island, they placed the icon in the designated monastery. The vigil light in the church never went out and was the only lighthouse in the entire area. Not only the Christians, but also the Turks believed in the icons’ miraculous grace, because many were saved from shipwrecks. The offerings and donations, by Christians and non-believers, piled up daily in the monastery.
The first small church of madonna was built with money from the people of Kalolimnos on the hill that took its name.
Congratulation!