Chapel of Saint Fokas

Feast day: September 22

The chapel is dedicated to the patron saint of the village of Athiainou, the martyr Fokas, and was built on the site of a pre-existing church. According to the relief slab with the cross (exterior, south wall), the construction of the chapel began in 1885. It was inaugurated on 6 October 1887 by Archbishop Sophronios. It is a single-aisled chapel with cross vaults and a five-sided apse. It was built of local stone. The wooden gallery (gynaikonitis in Greek) was added in 1922 and was manufactured by Nikolaos Christodoulou from the village of Kontea. The exterior buttresses are connected by unequal semicircular arches. The chapel has four entrances, two on the north and two on the south side. Apart from the two windows (south side and in the apse), the chapel is lit by the circular clerestory windows of the superstructure. The stone door frames on the north and south walls have relief decoration. There are also stone-carved animal-shaped gutters. Niches are formed on the northern wall, where icons could be placed for worship during the litanies. Mosaic depictions (contemporary) of saint Fokas (left) and Christ (right) were added to the abovementioned niches. The stone belfry at the northeast end of the church was built in 1960, replacing the older one. The wood-carved iconostasis was made in 1922. The chapel holds significant icons made by hieromonk Dionysios Christidis, an important painter of icons and abbot of the Stavrovouni Monastery. The church was renovated in 2001 and its feast day is on the 22nd of September.