Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (Panagia Petriotissa)

At the settlement Chatirianoi of Oxylithos, next to the cemetery, is the church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, a small masterpiece of Byzantine art, also known as “Panagia Petriotissa”, from the icon of the Virgin Mary that came from the village Petries.

It dates from the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century. Its initial core is the characteristic small transverse-vault church of Euboea during the Period of Latin Occupation, with the transverse barrel-vault. Its walls are built with uncarved stones among which there are bricks. On its western side a narthex has been added sometime later. In the years after the Revolution of 1821 they added, externally on the western side, a wooden-roofed rectangular secondary building.

In the church’s interior there are excellent wall paintings, some of which have been covered with plaster. The wall paintings in the main church and the narthex have been made simultaneously, by the same characteristic workshop that was responsible for several churches in the area in around 1300. The icons of the main church combine scenes from the life of Christ and Virgin Mary that are presented in parallel. At the narthex there are episodes from the life of Christ that are celebrated in successive Sundays after Easter, as well as scenes from the Second Coming, a fitting subject matter since this is a cemetery church. Along the same lines are the other representations as well, which refer to the salvation of the soul and the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Some of the scenes, like Judas’ betrayal or the depiction of Heaven, are characterized by the playful character of the colors and the intensity in the expression of the figures.

The church celebrates in the 15th of August.