The history of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Lykourissis at Skoutera Agriniou includes some very impressive events, such as the fact that both the icon of the Virgin Mary that is located at the monastery and the relics of the Saints were found by hunters. In the first case, a hunter found the icon being guarded by a terrifying wild dog named Rissos, which left its last breath as soon as the icon was found. Afterall, the name “Lykourissi” comes from the combination of the words “lykos” (wolf) and “rissa” (wild), which together refer to an extremely wild animal. The images of the Saints were found by barba-Haralambos, the monastery’s caretaker and priest, who was a hunter and saw a vision of a black-clothed Virgin Mary, our Panagia and Mother of all, pointing him to the place where he would find the relics. This was done in amazing great detail, to the point where he could hear a knock from the car, he would be going hunting the next day! Something that truly happened and only he noticed, recalling the vision he had seen, to find, after digging, first a small metal cover under another wooden one and then the Monastery’s treasure, the holy relics.
The history of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Lykourissis
Prof. Dr. Nikolaos Stergiou
Assistant Dean and Director of the Division of Biomechanics and Research Development, University of Nebraska at Omaha
