Underneath the rocks of the Meteora, lies the sacred temple of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. The initial phase of the existing building, according to data from the Ephorate of Antiquities of Trikala, was at first dated to the late 11th or early 12th century, mainly based on the dating of the initial phase of its painting decoration. However, newer studies tend to place the monument at around 1,000 AD.
The depiction of the scene of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, according to the same data, is also depicted in an icon, the oldest work attributed to the famous Cretan school painter, Theophanes, during the period when the artist was working at the Monastery of Anapafsa (1527).
The work was formerly found in the Byzantine temple of Kalambaka as part of a two-sided icon depicting the Crucifixion on the other side.
Today, it is kept in the Monastery of Varlaam and returns every year on August 15 to the Byzantine church of the Dormition for pilgrimage.
Inside, the church is full of frescoes. The oldest layer dates to the late 11th – early 12th c.
Source: ANA-MPA
