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There are many Kefalonia churches on the island. The most famous is the Church of Agios Gerasimos:
The Monastery and Church of Agios Gerassimos
The Monastery of Agios Gerasimos dominates the green “valley of the 40 wells” in Omala, near the villages of Fragata and Valsamata. It is the more sacred and venerable church of the island. The relics of the saint patron of the island, Agios Gerasimos, are kept there, in a silver casket.
The monastery is an impressive building with a chapel and a richly decorated new church. There is, under the monastery, a 2 room cave that the saint has built, for him to live and pray there. Pilgrims all over Greece come to pray here.
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The
cave of Agios Gerasimos
The cave of Saint Gerasimos is located in the area of Lassi in Argostoli. The cave has a natural hole which offers light and a view over the sea. Saint Gerasimos, the patron saint of the island took possession of the cave and stayed there until he moved to the Omala valley where he reorganised the monastery that took his name, Agios Gerasimos.
A small church has been built into this cave in order to welcome the many pilgrims.
The convent of Agios Andreas
The Byzantine convent of Agios Andreas was partly destroyed by the earthquake which shook the Ionians islands in 1953.
During the earthquake, some plaster fell off the church walls and revealed frescoes of the 16th century. After the earthquake, the church was restored and was turned into an interesting museum with a unique collection of Byzantine icons and some ecclesiastical exhibits.
According to the tradition, the convent also houses the holy relic of Agios Andrea’s right foot.
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The Church of the Virgin Mary Lagouvarda
The Church of the Virgin Mary Lagouvarda is situated in Markopoulos village. The church was built where a monastery, later destroyed by the Turks, used to be. The tradition says that in 1705, the monastery was attacked by pirates and the nuns, in order to avoid been taken prisoners, prayed the Virgin Mary to be transform into snakes. Their prayers were answered and the pirates, frightened, run away. Since then, the snakes return every year to the church and bring to the village good luck and prosperity.
The church became famous due to this strange phenomenon. A large number of harmless snakes appear around the church every year on August 15th, the day of the celebration of Virgin Mary.
Other Kefalonia churches :
- The Monastery and cave of Agia Paraskevi. It is located just outside Lixouri, on the red sandy beach of Lepeda. The cave was used as a church and it was turned in 1668 into a hermitage for monks. Nowadays, the monastery is in ruins and only a few parts of it can be seen.
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