Aghia Varvara Church

For starters, it must be mentioned that the area where the church of Aghia Varvara is today, is called Aghios Varvaros (not Aghia Varvara). About 1912, a refugee child fell from a great height on the spot where the church is today, without a scratch. Afterwards, the child itself said that a woman wearing white was with it while falling and lead it to the ground safely.

On that spot there was a small flame which never went out and was always lit all year round and under any weather conditions. A few years later, a group of villagers decided to explore the spot from which the flame came and entered the cave with all the necessary equipment in order to solve the mystery. As soon as the group entered the cave, a big sudden flash covered everything, but that didn’t discourage them and upon walking into the cave, they discovered an icon of Saint Varvara. Many miraculous powers were attributed to this icon, e.g. that upon entering the town of Argostoli, the great plague that had spread and claimed the lives of dozens everyday immediately stopped.

The icon disappeared (it was most likely stolen) a few years later, in 1935, after had performed more miracles, which established the respective saint as a protector of Argostoli.