What you will see
The church of Pammegiston Taxiarchon (The Archangels) is located in the central square of Milies and is an exquisite sample of traditional Pelion architecture. The church was build during the Ottoman years, without knowing the exact date of construction or its architect, we do know however that it was renovated in 1741 as inscribed. It is a three aisled basilica, and features 12 indoor domes dedicated to The Archangels and to Agioi Pantes (All Saints).
The church has a great history with many important moments. Here on the 7th of May 1821 Anthimos Gazis declared the Thessalian revolution. For this reason the church has been nicknamed as the Agia Lavra of Pelion (note: Agia Lavra was the church in Kalavrita where the Greek revolution was declared)
Looking the church from outside, it doesn’t give the impression an actual church, the reason being as it was constructed during the Ottoman era, the architect wanted to hide the real nature of the building. Only few windows exist in heighten positions in order to hide the interior, it didn’t have a bell tower and its roof didn’t resemble a church. On the contrary, its interior features unique murals painted by an unknown monk from Mt.Athos displaying rare paintings such as St.Christophers’ who is portrayed as a sheep, while the carved from tilia wood and gold plated iconostasis, hand made by Epirus craftsmen impresses at first sight. It displays animals, flowers and plants in religious acts. Finally it has a perfect acoustic as a result of its internal construction. Due to this fact, in 2000 a Bach festival was conducted within the church where vocal plays of religious music were presented.
