Customs - Culture

The Church of Agios Panteleimon

As part of the monastic state of Patmos, the island has a history inextricably linked with Greek Orthodoxy. Religious faith is very deep and Christian traditions are respected devoutly.

The most important celebrations on the island are held on 27 July for the Feast of Agios Panteleimon, and on 15 August (Assumption of the Virgin Mary), when fresh bread baked in wood-fired ovens, local sweets and meat are offered to all attendants. A particularly noteworthy custom is “Kleidona”: The Agathonisians light fires in the squares and jump over them in order to free themselves of the bad spirits. The other two significant festivals are held on 23 August in Megalo Chorio on the ninth day from the Assumption of Virgin Mary, and on 29 August in honour of Agios Ioannis Thermastis (day of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist). On this particular day, the inhabitants only ate grapes, prickly pears and sea urchins, because if they ate anything else, it would give them fever (thermi), hence the saint’s nickname “Thermastis”.

Dancing group of “Ietoussa” Cultural Association	See video from the Feast of Agios Panteleimon (Agathonisi, July 27th 2009)
Christmas and Holy Week are also celebrated with traditional fervour.

Cultural events, featuring local dancing groups and promoting the island’s traditions, are organised by the island’s Cultural Association “Ietoussa”.