Holy Church of Saints Theodoroi (Omorfi Ekklisia) Aegina

North of the city of Aegina, between the villages of Agioi Asomatoi and Kipseli, is one of the most picturesque and well-preserved Byzantine monuments of the island, the church of Saint Theodoroi (Agioi Theodoroi), also known as Omorfi Ekklisia (=Beautiful Church) due to its elegance. The church was built probably in the end of the 12th century, just before the island’s occupation by the Franks. According to an inscription that is preserved carved on a stone on the exterior wall, left of the entrance, the church was renovated in 1289, the era of the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and the Patriarch of Constantinople Athanasius I, during a period when the island was still under the occupation of the Franks. The work was funded by an unknown resident, whose name has not survived, perhaps as an act of resistance against the foreign occupation. However, on another inscription one can see faintly the name of Leo Zygomalas, descendant of a well-known family of Argolis, who might be connected with this work. The church is small in dimensions and belongs to the type of single aisled arched basilica. Its walls are built with large limestones according to the opus isodomum type of masonry, with construction material that came from an ancient sanctuary of the area, something that happened frequently during this period and resulted in the exterior of the churches being aesthetically pleasing. Its interior is richly decorated with excellent wall paintings that are preserved in very good condition and is one of the few known cases in southern Greece that can be dated accurately due to the inscription. The representations are characterized by their austerity and the detail of narration and include fourteen scenes from the Christological Cycle. What stands out, in the Nativity above the vault, is a rare depiction of Panagia Galaktotrofousa (=the Virgin Breastfeeding).