Holy Apostles (Gaios)

Holly Apostles (Gaios)

The Church of the Holy Apostles in Gaios of the Tranax and Gouliou families is mentioned in the church catalog of 1686 (likely built between 1600-1630) and is located on top of an older temple from the time of Justinian, itself built on a Paleo-Christian temple.

It was renovated in 1858 and is notable for its magnificent bell tower, built according to the inscription on June 28, 1860, with contributions from the residents. The iconostasis and the Despotic icons were painted in 1714 by the Ioannina painters Antonios Nomikos and Nikolaos Horafa, who were paid 24 rials.

The icon of Our Lady is the work of the Eptanisian painter Gazi (1878), depicting the scene where Simon of Cyrene is led to Golgotha to be crucified, and it is a copy of Raphael's painting found in a museum in Madrid.

The Evangelists are also works by Gazi. The images in square frames, the Baptism of the Lord on the left wall, and the Annunciation of the Virgin on the right wall are among the images brought by the refugees from Parga in 1819, along with the silver censer.

The church repaired again in 1963,

unfortunately, the frescoes behind the iconostasis depicting the apostles Gaius and Crispus, who preached Christianity on the island, were destroyed. Underneath the Holy Bema lies buried Gaius, the Corinthian disciple of the Apostle Paul, who remained in Paxos where he died, while Crispus left and continued his preaching elsewhere. It is said that Saint Gaius freed our island from the poisonous snakes that were numerous and dangerous at that time. The older inhabitants used to take soil, mix it with water, and drink it because they believed it made them immune to snakebites.

The capital of the island took its name from Gaius, and the church is located there. The memory of Saint Gaius was established to be celebrated together with the Apostles Peter and Paul on June 29th since 1985, with a procession of his icon. In 2002, the restoration of the church's icons and iconostasis was completed.

Inside the church, many prominent Paxos residents and benefactors are buried, such as Fokion Karousos, Antonia Karousou of the Martinengo family, Antonia Bogdanou-Karousou, Captain Thomas Vellianitis, and others.

The oldest grave in the cemetery likely dates back to 1828.