The Church of Zoodochos Pigi ( el, Ζωοδόχος Πηγή, "

Life-giving Spring The Mother of God of the Life-giving Spring or Life-giving Font (Greek: ''Ζωοδόχος Πηγή,'' ''Zoodochos Pigi'', Russian: ''Живоносный Источник'') is an epithet of the Holy Theotokos that originated with her revelation ...

") is a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

-era church in the village of

Pyli, Boeotia Pyli ( el, Πύλη meaning "gate", before 1927: Δερβενοσάλεσι - ''Dervenosalesi'') is a village and a community in Boeotia, Greece. Its population in 2011 was 652 for the village and 745 for the community, which includes the village ...

(formerly known as Dervenosalesi), originally part of a monastery. Located some 5 km west of the village, the modern church was originally the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

or lite of the ''

katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon ( gr, καθολικόν) or ''sobor'' ( Slavonic: съборъ) refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major church building (temple) of a monastery corre ...

'' church of a monastery. The monastery is otherwise unidentified and is not mentioned in any source or inscription, but the name "Monastery of Sterna" may be applicable to it. On the other hand, it is possible that this monastery is the same as the Monastery to the Theometor mentioned in the

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

Meletius the Younger Meletios the Younger (c. 1035 – c. 1105), also called Meletios of Myoupolis, was a Byzantine Greek monk, pilgrim and priest. He is venerated as a saint in Eastern Orthodoxy and his feast is celebrated on 1 September. ...

, in which case it dates to the end of the 11th century. On stylistic grounds, it has been dated to the late 12th century. The katholikon, whose foundations survive, was a

cross-in-square A cross-in-square or crossed-dome floor plan, plan was the dominant architectural form of middle- and late-period Byzantine Empire, Byzantine church architecture, churches. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross ...

domed church with three semicircular apses, and sported a floor decoration by inlaid marble in geometric patterns very similar to the nearby Church of

Hosios Loukas Hosios Loukas ( el, Ὅσιος Λουκᾶς) is a historic walled monastery situated near the town of Distomo, in Boeotia, Greece. Founded in the mid-10th century, the monastery is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine archite ...

. The katholikon collapsed ca. 1890, and the narthex was transformed into the current church. The narthex is roughly octagonal, with four crosswise central vaults and niches in the corners. From the rest of the monastery, only portions of the surrounding walls and, to the north, the foundations of the monastery baths, datable to the 13th century, survive.

References

Byzantine church buildings in Central Greece Buildings and structures in Boeotia 12th-century architecture in Greece {{coord, 38.214408, N, 23.470431, E, display=title