Virgin Mary the Yatrissa

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The miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary Giatrissa (The Healer) was brought from Jerusalem to Loutraki in 1928. Due to the numerous miraculous healings attributed to her, a church was built in her honor, attracting many faithful worshippers and pilgrims.

Lithograph on natural wood.

The History of the Holy Icon of the Virgin Mary Giatrissa (The Healer)

The history of the holy icon of the Virgin Mary Giatrissa (The Healer) in Loutraki is as follows:

Every summer, a woman named Maria, who was a midwife, would visit Loutraki to benefit from its therapeutic baths. During her visits, she stayed at the home of Maria Sokou, with whom she had a close friendship.

On one of her pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Maria brought back a gift for Maria Sokou: an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child on her left side.

While in Jerusalem, the seller had instructed Maria to give the icon to devout people who would believe in its miraculous power, light candles before it, and keep its oil lamp burning day and night, as it was considered a miracle-working icon.

Maria passed these instructions on to Maria Sokou. She also told her that she would pass away twenty days after delivering the holy icon, which, according to tradition, indeed came to pass.

The icon came into the possession of Maria Sokou in 1928. Over time, devotion to the icon grew among the residents of Loutraki and visitors from other areas.

As a result, the community decided to build a church in its honor. With the assistance of His Eminence Metropolitan Damaskinos of Corinth, a committee was formed, and, with the support of generous donors, the first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary Giatrissa was constructed.

The church was built on a plot of land donated by Ioannis Marras, opposite the location of the present-day church. It was named Panagia Giatrissa (The Virgin Mary the Healer) because of the numerous miraculous healings attributed to the holy icon.

The name Panagia Giatrissa is also associated with a monastery located on Mount Taygetos, at an altitude of 1,100 meters.

The monastery celebrates its feast day on September 8, the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos (Birth of the Virgin Mary).

Within the monastery, there is a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, as well as a spring of holy water (Agiasma).