In 1152, Sebastocrator Isaakios Komnenos inaugurated the Monastery of Vira here and dedicated his Catholicos to Panagia Kosmosoteira. The architectural type of the church is cruciform with a dome, a variant of the dikyon. Its elegance and magnificence reflects the glamor of Byzantium. The hagiographies with their redundant and at the same time expressive forms, soft colors and subtle lines are brilliant examples of the flourishing Constantinople School of the 12th century. The ceramic relief with the single-headed eagle that adorns the outer side of the Sanctuary confirms the fulfillment of the founder's wish (to be buried in this place) and is considered valuable for its rarity and symbolism. Of the remaining buildings of the Monastery, two of the six towers of the inner enclosure are preserved, in order to confirm the testimonies that wanted the Monastery "fortress that stands waiting".
In 1357 the region was enslaved by the Ottoman Turks. The walls of Vira are torn down and the church is turned into a Muslim mosque. The city is gradually renamed Feres. Today's unspoiled city of Fera is the heir of the Byzantine Vira with the church of Panagia remaining the living monument - a symbol of the art and culture of Constantinople and Thrace. In 1994, the 1st World Congress of the Thracians was organized in Feres, where the participants officially declared Panagia Kosmosoteira their patroness and her Holy Church, a pilgrimage center for Thracians all over the world.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou