Church of Agia Paraskevi, Neraidochori

The Church of Agia Paraskevi is located at the Tsouka site, shortly after Neraidochori (Veterniko), on the road to Pyrra. According to a stone carved inscription above the entrance, it was built in 1792 by the armatolos Georgios Chatzipetros under the episcope Paisios II. It served as the katholikon (main church) of an old monastery, which was dissolved in the early 20th century and is reported to have housed a significant library consisting of more than 2,500 volumes. The church belongs to the type of a four-columned, cross-in-square church with a dome, belonging to the Athonite variation with two side “choroi”, apses on the north and south walls as well as a spacious narthex, the liti. For the construction of the church architectural materials from the older katholicon were reportedly used. Above the central part of the liti, is the chapel dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Savior, which also functioned as a refuge during raids and as a school during the Ottoman occupation. The church’s feast day on July 26th is also the main festival of the village.