History | Panagia Phaneromeni Ayvalık Ayazması

Historic interior of Panagia Phaneromeni Ayvalık Ayazması

Panagia Phaneromeni Ayazması

One of Ayvalık’s Most Important Historic Sites

The most famous and important religious structure in the town was Panagia Phaneromeni Ayazması. The icon of Panagia was discovered on June 28, 1852, during excavations carried out following a dream. In 1867, a holy spring sanctuary was built here at the expense of Captain Mihalis Pappazis of Chios. The first sanctuary was dismantled in 1890, and a larger one was built on the same site that year. Panagia Phaneromeni Ayazması remained a dominant part of the town’s religious life until 1920. After 1922, when the region came entirely under Turkish control, it completely lost its former religious function.

Panagia is a name used by Orthodox Christians for the Virgin Mary. In Byzantine and Orthodox iconography, depictions and icons of the Virgin Mary in churches are also called Panagia. Phaneromeni means “revealed,” “reappearing,” or “made visible,” and is therefore an epithet of the Virgin Mary. As its name suggests, this structure was built in honor of the Virgin Mary.

The 1821 Morea uprising, which led to the independence of Greece, also spread to the western coast of Anatolia. As a result, the Greek inhabitants of Ayvalık and Cunda Island joined the rebels and took action in May 1821. A large part of the population left Ayvalık and sought refuge on the islands. Before the Greek War of Independence had ended, the Ottoman government in Istanbul adopted a conciliatory approach toward allowing the dispersed Greek population of Ayvalık to return to their former homes.

An order was issued concerning the pardon of the people of Ayvalık and the resettlement of those who returned. In a letter sent to the Sublime Porte on May 18, 1824, by Mustafa Ağa, the governor of Lesbos, it was stated that the inhabitants of Ayvalık and Cunda Island had been “summoned and resettled.” The Greek population gradually returned and settled in Ayvalık and Cunda Island, and their olive groves were later restored to them.

The return of the Greek population appears to have been completed between 1832 and 1840. Ayvalık had suffered considerable destruction during these turbulent years. As the town revived, its churches and other important buildings were constructed during the second half of the 19th century. Panagia Phaneromeni Ayvalık Ayazması also dates from this period.

The Nine-Day Feast

The Religious and Social Importance of the Ayazma

Ayvalık tahribatından sonra 1832-1840 yılları arasında, Rumların yeniden Ayvalık’a dönmesinden sonra Kutsal Hastane yeniden kuruldu. Bu hastanenin maddi açıdan desteklenmesi için büyük bir ENNEAIMERA diye anılan “The Nine-Day Feast” 23 Ağustos 1840’ta başlatıldı.

Bu “The Nine-Day Feast” Meryem Ana’nın ölümünün yorumlandığı bir yortuydu. 15 Ağustos’ta Meryem Ana’nın öldüğü gün başlıyor, dokuz gün sürüyordu. 23 Ağustos’ta büyük bir bayramla kutlanıyordu. 1890 Ayazması’nın havuzunun basamaklarının dokuz adet oluşu da Yortu’nun dokuz gün oluşuyla benzerlik gösterir.

All proceeds from the feast went to the hospital. The celebrations were held at the Church of Hagios Haralampos and were also important for Panagia Phaneromeni Ayazması, where prayers were offered as well. There were two particularly important days associated with Panagia Phaneromeni Ayazması.

The first was June 28, 1852, the day the icon that led to the establishment of the Ayazma was discovered. The second was the “ENNEAIMERA Feast,” celebrated on August 23. The discovery of the icon of Panagia Phaneromeni on June 28, 1852, was a major event in the region.

For residents of the surrounding area and the wider region, the discovery was regarded as a major historical and religious event that revived their faith. Reported miracles were interpreted as divine signs of Mary’s presence and protection. From the day the icon was discovered, the people regained their confidence.

They cultivated the land, and olive groves and vineyards were once again worked extensively. Olive oil workshops and factories were established, and ships were built. It was believed that Phaneromeni had guided all of these developments. In this way, a new life began for them.

This prosperity was followed by extensive construction throughout the town. Indeed, it is noteworthy that the surviving buildings seen today were constructed after this period. The icon of Panagia was kept not at the Ayazma, but at the Church of Hagios Haralampos.

The priests of Hagios Haralampos carried the icon to fields and various locations in and around Ayvalık to perform blessings. Donations collected during these blessings were recorded as income for the hospital. The largest celebration took place on August 23.

This feast was celebrated at the Church of Hagios Haralampos and in all the churches, while major prayers were also held at the Ayazma. Thus, the Ayazma had two principal feast days: the first on June 28, and the second on August 23, associated with the nine-day feast of the Virgin Mary.

Restoration work at Panagia Phaneromeni Ayvalık Ayazması — Restoration of Panagia Phaneromeni Ayvalık Ayazması

Historic mosaic floor of Panagia Phaneromeni Ayvalık Ayazması — Historic mosaic floor of the Ayazma

The Icon of Panagia Phaneromeni

The Discovery of the Icon and the Holy Water

The icon of Panagia Phaneromeni was discovered on June 28, 1852, at the site where the Ayazma stands today, approximately 100 meters from the shore, in a place known as Saliokola or Saliokoula’s Garden.

Excavations continued for a long time in search of the icon. The site was excavated following a dream seen on a Sunday in 1851 by Evangelini, a young girl from Ayvalık, around sixteen years old, described as a simple country girl with a deep love of God.

The excavations uncovered an icon of the Virgin Mary and the holy water. The young girl later became a nun under the name “Kassiani” and is believed to have lived until the end of the century.

From the discovery of the icon in 1852 until the departure of the Greek population from the region in 1922, the Ayazma became a major religious center for Ayvalık and the surrounding areas.

According to contemporary accounts and written sources, the icon was said to be covered in silver or gold and to have been housed in a small wooden frame with a drawer.

The icon was usually kept at the Church of Hagios Haralampos and was regularly carried around to bless the Ayazma as well as homes and fields.

In an engraving on a liturgical book printed in 1876, the Virgin Mary is depicted holding the standing Christ, dressed in a chiton, in her right arm. Christ extends his right hand forward, with three fingers in a gesture of blessing.

With his left hand, Christ holds a globe in front of the Virgin Mary’s chest. The Virgin Mary is shown embracing Christ with her right arm and supporting his feet with her left hand.