Saint Friday and Saint Sunday

There are two churches in the village of Moskohori; one in the fields and one on the main square. The one in the fields, below, is dedicated to Agia Kyriaki, or Saint Sunday, so called because she was finally born on a Sunday after her parents had waited forever for their longed-for child. As you might guess (since she ended up as a saint), she didn't have an easy ride. Having decided that she wanted to devote her life to Christ, she refused to marry the son of the local judge in Izmit, where they lived. To cut a very long and grizzly story short, she managed to escape execution three times. Once by managing to trigger an earthquake, which destroyed the temple where she was to have been killed, then by making the flames of a fire fizzle out and finally by dying of her own accord just as she was about to be beheaded. Despite all these tumults, this little church is a very peaceful and beautiful place, surrounded by trees and cotton fields and next to a river. 

Agia Kyriaki

The main church in the village is dedicated to Agia Paraskevi, or Saint Friday. She also had a tough time of it. Born to Greek parents in Rome, she dedicated her life to Christ and faced tortures because of her preaching. The Emperor Antonius tried to finish her off with a cauldron of burning tar and oil but it didn't harm her. Surprised at this, the emperor tried the mixture on himself and chucked it as his own face. Why? We really don't know. Sure enough it was boiling and he blinded himself and immediately begged Friday to baptize him. She not only agreed to this but she also cured his eyes. 

Storks arrive every spring and nest on the roof of the church. This year Mum and Dad Stork have had four babies and they are already full grown. When you see them flying, they look pre-historic; just as you imagine a pterosaur might have been. They will be off again in the autumn.