On the eastern side of the island, before the village of Archangelos, is the Monastery of Panagia Tsampika. In the area there was a necropolis in the Mycenaean era and in the classical years a temple of the goddess Artemis. At the top of the hill, at an altitude of 320 m, dominates the old monastery of Panagia (Kyra i Psili), where the miraculous icon of Panagia Platytera was found. The name Tsambika comes from the word "tsamba", which means spark in the local dialect, and is associated with the finding of the image. It is said that for 3 consecutive nights a shepherd saw a light coming from the mountain. There he discovered the silver icon of the Virgin Mary on a cypress tree with a candle burning in front of it. The icon had been lost from the Monastery of Panagia Kykkou (Cyprus) and, after being found in Rhodes, it was returned again. However, she returned to Rhodes in a miraculous way and thus her small church was built in this place. Panagia helps childless women to have a child and they, to honor Panagia, give the name Tsambikos or Tsambika to the child they have.
The new Monastery of Panagia is located 3 km east of Archangelos and includes the temple of Panagia, the imposing three-story bell tower, a complex of cells, auxiliary spaces... etc. It was renovated in 1760 by the monk Hatzigerasimos. The church (17X8 m.) is of the Dodecanese type, single-aisled and covered externally with cross vaults and hollow tiles. To the west is the double-bay entrance to the temple covered by a propylon. Inside it has a wood-carved iconostasis older than the 17th century and a floor decorated with the traditional black and white pebbles. Despotic icons date back to the 19th century. The miraculous icon of Panagia Platytera is also kept here. He celebrates on September 8.
Editor: Niki Kalopaidis