Panagia Kamariotissa, the protector of the island

The church of Kamariotissa is right by the harbor, on one of the streets behind the seafront. It's dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (like the church of Chora) and is famous for the icon of Panagia Kamariotissa, which also gave the town its name.

The legend of the icon is somewhat similar to one of the legends of another important icon in Samothraki - the one from the Church of Panagia Krimniotissa.

The story says that in the 9th century, during the iconoclasm period, Lambros, Paul and his younger brother Raxis saw a flicker in the water as they were setting their fishing nets on the beach of the bay where today lies the port. As time went on, the shine was getting brighter and closer to the shore. The fishermen got curious and went to investigate in their boats.

The mystery was solved when they found a box in the waves on which was written "Panagia (The Virgin) from Kamares" and inside it an icon on which was written Panagia Kamariotissa. According to tradition, the icon originates from a village called Kamares (the Kemer of today, on the shore of the Sea of Marmara). Another theory is that it comes from the Monastery of Panagia Kamariotissa on Chalki Island (known today as Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands near Istanbul).

They brought it to land and built a chapel on the shore 40 steps away from where they came ashore. On that spot, there were already the ruins of an older church. Later the chapel was upgraded to a small church and a village by the same name was founded: Kamariotissa.

Legend or not, in the 70s, when a bigger church was erected on the spot of the smaller one from 1837, the ruins of a Paleochristian temple was uncovered. Archeologists established that it was built in the 5th or 6th century and reconstructed in the middle of the Byzantine era. Unfortunately, those ruins were not preserved.

The icon of Panagia Krimniotissa is considered the protector of the town and the island and is thought to protect the inhabitants from disease and dangers.

Every year, on the first Thursday after Easter (Maundy Thursday), which according to tradition is the day when the fishermen set the icon on the spot where the church was later built, the locals attend the great celebration of Kamariotissa. After the religious service, grilled fish (especially sardines) are given away.