page_title: Panagia Episkopi
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Panagia Episkopi / History
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081-1118)
context_page_description: The Panagia Episkopi is the previous middle-Byzantine cathedral of the Greek Cycladean island of Santorini. It is also called Panagia tis Episkopis or Church of Episkopi Thiras. According to a traditional, now almost completely destroyed inscription, the church building was commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos at the end of the 11th century, and took the place of a previous three-aisled early Byzantine basilica. The church was dedicated to the Panagia, a Greek Orthodox appellation for the Virgin Mary. The second part of the name means "episcopal". The Panagia Episkopi was the seat of the Orthodox diocese of Santorini until 1207 and from 1537 to 1827.
context_section_description: An origin myth relates that an icon from a chapel dug into a nearby cliff, repeatedly vanished without any observable cause, to be found on a volcanic hill, the site of the current chapel. The faithful took this as a sign that the icon did not want to remain in the underground chapel, and wanted to be placed in a free-standing church.
  In 1701 a further legend was recorded, relating that the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1048–1118) presented the Church with a deed to the entire land outside the former villages of Gonia and Pyrgos Kallistis up to the top of the highest mountain of the island. According to the legend, his wife Irene Doukaina also donated a large sum of money. A decree in the form of a Chrysobull was attached to the deeds, with a picture of the church on the seal. No such deed or seal has been found to date.
  There is a demonstrable reference to Emperor Alexios in the now largely destroyed inscription Ἀλέξιος ἐν Χῶ τῶ Θῶ αὐτοκράτωρ Ρωμαίων ὁ Κομνινὸς καì πιστὸς βασιλεύς (Alexios in Christ the God [faithful], autokrator of the Romans, the Komnenos and pious basileus) over the inside of the main entrance. There is also a fresco with a portrait of the Emperor, which dates from the 16th century and is hence not contemporary, and is moreover badly damaged. There is a debate in the literature about whether the Alexios in question might not be Alexios II Komnenos, who ruled from 1180 until 1183. The motifs in the marble intarsia provide some support for this theory, particularly the representation of birds and the frequent use of crosses are typical of illustrated manuscripts from the time of Alexios II. Evidence to the contrary comes from the fact that Alexios I demonstrably pursued a program of church building, and that neighbouring islands have churches that have been dated to the time of his rule. Therefore, the foundation of the church before the emperor's death in 1118 is not excluded; various local texts that specify exact dates, are from the 19th century and probably have no factual basis.
  The recorded history of the church begins in 1207, when the island of Santorini became part of the Duchy of the Archipelago, controlled by the Venetian Republic, following the Fourth Crusade. The Venetians drove the Orthodox bishop from the island and put a Roman Catholic bishop in his place.  The Panagia Episkopi was named as the seat of the displaced bishop in this context.  While his Latin replacement took a seat in Skaros at the edge of the crater, a Latin altar was erected next to the Orthodox one at Panagia Episkopi.
  When the island was captured in 1537 along with the rest of the Aegean by Hayreddin Barbarossa for the Ottoman Empire, the Orthodox bishop returned and again assumed the Panagia Episkopi as his seat. The Roman Catholics of the island did not accept this, especially due to the valuable estates of the church and the agricultural and other yields of the lands. The dispute escalated, and both parties took to arms, so that the conflict was brought to the attention of both the Patriarch Neophytos II and Sultan Ahmed I. Under pressure from these two leaders, the parties were able to reach a settlement whereby the church lands were shared, and both confessions were able to hold services in the church.
  In later years, the dispute between the Orthodox and Catholic islanders flared up again. The new dispute was centered around the Feast of the Assumption, namely who would have the first service on the previous day, and who would celebrate the main liturgy on the feast day itself. The conflict intensified until 1758, when Patriarch Cyril V of Constantinople decreed that all Orthodox Christians who shared a church with Catholics, would be excommunicated.  Sultan Mustafa III issued a firman (decree) transferring the church to the Orthodox community.  The Catholics ignored this decree, feeling secure in the protection of the Western ambassadors in Constantinople, and continued to celebrate Mass in the church.  In 1767, the Patriarch and Sultan issued a new decree, requiring the Catholics to erect an annex to th
caption: Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, possible donor of the church
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