044
Type:
religious icons
Origin:
Sinasos
‘Nea Sinasos’ Association

The icon of Our Lady of the Sign (I Platitera ton Ouranon)

The ‘Nea Sinasos’ Association Museum is a space hosting objects donated by refugees from Sinasos, carried to Greece by themselves or their families. Most are objects of everyday use, household equipment, mementos, formal and casual clothes. Very few icons or religious heirlooms are housed in the Museum since these are objects of great sentimental value for those who brought them over to their new homeland. More than mere keepsakes, they are symbols of faith, intensely charged with emotion.

The people of Sinasos were known for their faith and piety. Besides the Monastery of Agios Nikolaos, there were two more churches in Sinasos, one dedicated to the Taxiarchs and one to Agios Konstantinos and Agia Eleni, as well as 40 small and large chapels operating within and outside the town boundaries. Every affluent family used to have a chapel dedicated to its patron saint, covering all its operational expenses.

Extract from an interview with Vasiliki Papadopoulou, president of the ‘Nea Sinasos’ Association.

One of the icons donated to the ‘Nea Sinasos’ Association Museum is this icon depicting Virgin Mary with her hands upraised in prayer (Our Lady of the Sign).