The Holy Church of Porta Panagia

The Holy Church of Porta Panagia is close to the village of Pyli, about 20 km SW of Trikala in Central Greece. It is located in a picturesque valley at the entrance of a canyon to the Pindos Mountains. A document kept at the Agios Pantelehemonas (Russian) monastery in Mount Athos reveals that it was built in 1282, by the illegitimate son of Duke Mihail B' of Ipiros (in western Greece), as part of a large Byzantine monastery. The church was the catholicon of the monastery, built on the foundations of an ancient Greek temple. The monastery was destroyed in 1394. In 1855 the church was also destroyed by fire, but it was rebuilt soon after and has been officiated ever since.
It is a three-chamber basilica with a crossed roof, decorated with a beautiful ceramic facade, traversed by meanders, crosses and tiled ornaments. Its unequal-height roof and arched windows provide a spectacular and pleasing view. Two well-preserved mosaics, depicting our Lord and our Lady, are located, in reverse order, either side the Sanctum.
Nowadays it belongs to the monastery of St. Vissarion, located at the green slopes of Mount Koziakas. It is celebrated on August 23, on Assumption day.