Panagia of Tinos, also known as the Megalochari of Tinos (Great Grace) or Evangelistria of Tinos (Our Lady of Good Tidings), is the declared national patron saint of Greece, because its discovery coincided with the very first days of the creation of the modern Greek State, and has since become the most venerated religious icons in all of Greece. It has three festivals in the Church calendar: The anniversay of the finding of the icon (30 Jan);

The Annunciation (Mar 25); and the anniversary of the vision of St. Pelagia of Tinos (July 23). The icon was rediscovered miraculously, attracted many pilgrims from all over Greece, and the construction of the Church of Panagia Evangelistria was begun and completed by 1830.

History

The icon is a beautiful portrayal of the Virgin Mary kneeling with her head bent in prayer. It is regarded as being older than the Byzantine period, and many scholars regard this icon to be the work of the Apostle and Evangelist Luke. It is assumed that this icon was so highly esteemed in the Byzantine era it was either hidden or lost around the time of the Moslem invasions.

According to the tradition, the Mother of God appeared to Sister Pelagia, a local nun from the Monastery of Kechrovouniou requesting her to unearth a wonder-working icon. The sister ignored this vision on many occasions considering that it was merely her imagination, however, the Virgin Mary appeared to her one final time and rebuked the nun for her disbelief and warned her that she would fall ill if she continued to resist.

The tradition continues that the sister visited the bishop for his thoughts on her visions. A few years earlier, another local had visited the bishop for the same request by the Mother of God. The bishop, therefore, believed that these visions were authentic, and he rang the church bells to gather the entire town and inform them of the request.

Excavations commenced in September 1822. While searching for the icon, ruins of a small old Byzantine chapel were found and this in turn covered the foundations of a 4th-century edifice that had been dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist. In the vision to Pelagia, the Virgin Mary had told her that this church had been burnt down in the 10th-century by Arab pirates.

The cornerstone for the church was laid on January 1, 1823 and the chapel was named in honour of the “:Life-Giving Spring” (Gr. Ζωοδοτος πιγις) since an ancient well had been found on this site also. On January 30, the excavations were continued and, as locals from the village of Phalatas where leveling the foundation a few metres from the well, their shovel struck the icon. They uncovered the half of the icon with the Archangel Gabriel holding out a lily to the Mother of God. They later discovered the matching half of the Virgin kneeling accepting her role in the Incarnation. These two pieces have since been joined together.

Excerpt from orthodoxwiki, links to full article and sacred shrine of Tinos Greece below…