Catacomb of Phaneromeni Church

The stairs leading to the entrance of the catacomb, are outside the Phaneromeni Church—located around 7 meters from the east wall of the church building. This tomb was discovered in 1870.^[1] The church building adjacent to the tombs dates to 1920. It is a simple white church with a dome and two bell towers. There is a network of catacomb tunnels running underneath the church, including two large tombs connected by a corridor.^[2] The catacombs belong to the Monastery of Panagia Chrysoleontissa.^[3]

The Phaneromeni Tomb is also known as the Saint Phaneromeni Rock-cut Tomb.^[4] It is a rock cavern with two chambers. The structure suggests that it once was a pagan tomb, dating back to Phoenician times. Sources disagree on the exact date of the tombs, with reports differing from the 4th century B.C. to 1200 B.C.^[5]

The place is credited with various magical properties: those who wanted to ask for help from the Virgin Mary could leave pieces of clothing on the gate. The tombs are still used for worship today, with a large number of offerings and icons of the Virgin Mary found inside. Additionally, it is believed that the adjacent church was constructed after a local resident dreamt about the Virgin Mary, and then found an icon of her close to the site of the tombs.^[3]

Two further tombs were discovered connected to the catacomb during excavations in 2012.^[6]

• Faneromeni Monastery in Lefkadas (Greek Wikipedia)
• Faneromeni Monastery in Salamina (Greek Wikipedia)