Panagia Giatrissa

Every summer a woman named Mary who was a midwife used to visit Loutraki for its spring waters. She stayed with Marias Sokou with whom she had a friendship. When that Mary went to venerate the Holy Land, she brought Marias Sokou as a present the icon of Virgin Mary with the baby Christ in her left side. In Jerusalem, the salesman had told Maria to give the icon to God-fearing people who believed in her, and to light candles for her and an oil-lamp to burn all day and night because it was a miraculous icon. Mary told Maria Sokou all these. She also told her that 20 days after the delivery of the icon she was to die, which happened. The icon came into the hands of Sokou in 1928. The reverence of the residents of Loutraki as well as the foreigners was growing gradually. They then thought to build a church. A committee was developed with the aid of the then bishop Damaskinos of Corinth and they built in a building ground which was granted by John Marras, opposite from today’s church where was the first church of Panagia Giatrissa, which was thus named because of the wondrous healings which she performed.