A unique encounter with spiritual and historical depth is preserved through the tradition and memory of the inhabitants of mountainous Arta.
This is the meeting of Saint Parthenios, Bishop of Radovisdiou (July 21), with Saint Kosmas the Aitolos (August 24), which, according to many historians and folk tales, took place in the village of Velentziko in Arta.
Saint Parthenios, one of the seven great Saints honored in Arta, was born in the early 18th century in Vatsounia of Karditsa, and was ordained Bishop during the difficult period of the Ottoman Empire. His diocese, Radovisdiou, also included areas of the present-day prefecture of Arta, with its seat initially in the mountainous village of Vrangiana in Evrytania and later moved to Velentziko.
This is the meeting of Saint Parthenios, Bishop of Radovisdiou (July 21), with Saint Kosmas the Aitolos (August 24), which, according to many historians and folk tales, took place in the village of Velentziko in Arta.
Saint Parthenios, one of the seven great Saints honored in Arta, was born in the early 18th century in Vatsounia of Karditsa, and was ordained Bishop during the difficult period of the Ottoman Empire. His diocese, Radovisdiou, also included areas of the present-day prefecture of Arta, with its seat initially in the mountainous village of Vrangiana in Evrytania and later moved to Velentziko.
According to local tradition, Saint Kosmas, passing through Tzoumerka in Epirus in 1774, met with Parthenios in Velentzikos, to discuss the great problems of the enslaved Greeks, but also to visit together the Monastery of Rovelista, which was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Radovisdiou. The Monastery was a center of education, spirituality and Ottoman resistance. It housed a school and a rich library, which were repeatedly destroyed by the Ottomans due to the actions of the monks and their support for the local militias.
To this day, the residents of the area point to the place of this historic meeting, keeping alive the memory of an important chapter in the ecclesiastical and national history of Epirus.
To this day, the residents of the area point to the place of this historic meeting, keeping alive the memory of an important chapter in the ecclesiastical and national history of Epirus.
