Pulgrimage of Panagia Demerliotissa

At the village of Stavros in Farsala, which was older was called Demerli, is the important sacred pilgrimage, which took its name from the miraculous icon of Panagia Demerliotissa of Eleoussa (Virgin Mary the Merciful), as it is called by the people of the area.

The church was built in 1778 and its icons the icons were made in 1786, according to an inscription that survives over its southern entrance. The same inscription mentions that the work was carried out with the expenses of pious Christians and the assistance of the priests Rizos and Athanasios and the Gerapostolis, guardian of Piklin Ntaoutis, when Meletios III was the Metropolitan of Larissa.

The church is at the centre of a large yard, on a level lower than the surface of the ground. It is a three-aisled basilica with a closed exonarthex. The interior of the church is decorated with wall paintings of 1786, the works of the painters Georgios Georgiou from Mavrilo of Tymfristos and Georgios Anagnostou from Fourna of Evrytania. Impressive is the tall, wooden-carved screen which was constructed in the second quarter of the 19th century. It is decorated with representations of animals, birds and plans and has been gold-plated in modern times. At its surface still survive the rings the Turks have placed to tie their horses, since they used the church as a stable during the Turkish occupation. A prominent location in the interior of the church is occupied by icon of the Virgin Mary, which tradition attributes to Luke the Evangelist. Near the church there are cells for accommodating pilgrims, which were reconstructed after their destruction in the earthquake of 1954.

The church celebrates on the 23rd of August.