St Theodora’s tiny chapel in Central Peloponese, Greece, is definitely a miracle of nature, and for the believers, a sign of God’s might.
Seventeen oak trees sprout from the roof and walls of the Church of Agia Theodora without any visual evidence of roots. Image credit: Atlas Obscura
Considered as one of the most beautiful and unique churches in the world, and registered in the Guinness Book as “miracle church,” Agia Theodora Vasta is a small 11th or 12th century Byzantine church that has 17 holly and maple trees growing from its roof. What’s even more interesting about these trees, most of which are taller than 30 meters, is that their roots are invisible: only one root about the thickness of an arm is visible beside the entrance.
Even more amazingly, there is not one sign of the trees or roots inside the tiny barrel vaulted chapel either, except for one wispy bit of green. And there’s yet another amazing fact about the location: a river runs beneath the chapel, irrigating the trees.
Image credit: Atlas Obscura
According to local legend, Theodora lived in the 10th century in the town of Vasta. When the area was raided by bandits, she disguised herself as a man to join the defense, to save her father from having to do so. Due to her brave deeds, another young woman fell in love with her, but since Theodora kept rejecting her she decided to take her revenge on her, by accusing the soldier of having deflowered her. As a result, Theodora was sentenced to death and executed, at the location where the chapel is today. With her dying breath, she prayed to God, “Let my body become a church, my blood a river, and my hair the trees.” After she was martyred, a spring gushed forth which flooded to become the river that flows under the chapel.
Agia Theodora Vasta has become a popular pilgrimage site for Greeks, with thousands of people traveling to the site to pray on her feast day, September 11. The saint is said to have performed many miracles for those who pray to her.
St Theodora of Vasta
Worshippers built a small church over the spot of her martyrdom and soon 17 enormous trees (some weighing over 1 tonne) began to grow on its roof, which are believed to symbolize St Theodora’s age when she died. There have been countless scientific studies conducted to uncover the mystery of 1) how the small chapel continues to support such enormous trees and 2) how these trees grew and continue to survive with no evidence of any root system reaching the ground.
Thanks to these studies, we know that the chapel was probably built in the Byzantine times – meaning before 1205, and earlier than the rest of the village. Scientists have taken x-rays of the church walls, but could not trace any root formation anywhere. High frequency geo-radar indicated that although there are roots, they are all hair thin and somehow thread their way inside the walls of the church to get their nourishment from the river underneath.
The prevailing scientific theory is that the original church was built at a location with a high fertile soil content, where a kermes oak grew originally. From the seeds of this oak, more kermes oaks grew on the chapel’s roof, then maple trees, then terebinths, and finally the 17 oaks that create the current impressive sight, which is surrounded by a thick oak forest with the idyllic creek that joins Haradros river.
Image credit: Atlas Obscura
Despite being under considerable pressure due to the weight of the trees and the stresses created by the roots running through its walls, St Theodora’s chapel has survived for hundreds of years with no damage to the structure or to the trees.
Quite a miraculous place indeed.
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