Nativity of the Virgin – Panagia Tsambika, Archangelos

The Holy Monastery of “Kato” Panagia Tsambika or the “Lower one” is located before the residential core of Archangelos village and it is found approximately 28 kilometres from the city of Rhodes. It is built on a plateau next to a verdant pine forest on the Rhodes-Lindos highway. The church of the Monastery, a single-naved cruciform basilica with a narthex, was renovated in 1760. It is decorated with frescoes and has an exquisitely crafted wood-carved iconostasis (1760-1783) and remarkable portable icons dating from the 19th century. The church is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin and celebrates on September 8. Panagia Tsambika is considered the patroness of childbearing and to this day countless miracles have happened to childless couples from all over the world. It is perhaps the most popular pilgrimage of the island and the Dodecanese. During the period of the church celebration, various religious and cultural events take place in the monastery churchyard. A small procession of the miraculous icon of Panagia Tsambika takes place at the same time. According to oral tradition, the icon came miraculously from Cyprus; it is currently hosted in the church. This icon was found on the hill opposite the current monastery, where the older church of Panagia “Kyra” or “Psili” [‘the Lady’ or ‘the Higher one’] (c. 16th – 17th century) was built in her honor. Next to the church there is an ecclesiastical museum, in which valuable relics of the Monastery are kept, as well as a museum gift shop. Opposite the Holy Monastery, at a distance of about 4 kilometres, stretches the sandy beach of Tsambika and further south we find the town of Archangelos with its harbour, Stegna.