Prokopi village on north Euboea is one of the most visited places on the island. It is mostly famous for the church of Saint John the Russian. He was a Ukrainian guy who was born in the late 17th century. He took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1710, and after being taken prisoner by the Turks, he lived the rest of his days in captivity. Due to his alleged firm adeherence to the Christian creed, he was later declared a saint by the Orthodox Church. After his death, his body was mummified and kept in the original village of Prokopi in Minor Asia until 1923, when the population exchange between Greece and Turkey took place. The people of Prokopi took John’s mummy with them, and ended up on north Euboea where they founded the New Prokopi.
Apart from one hand which was cut off and sent over to a Russian monastery in Mount Athos, John’s mummy is still kept diligently inside a glass coffin, as he constitutes the village’s main source of income. Crowds of Greek, Russian, and other pious Orthodox folks visit the village all year round, hoping for something good to happen to them after kissing John’s coffin and leaving their generous donations in his church. Besides John and his posthumous business, the village is worth visiting for its numerous tavernas and traditional products street markets. I am here dropping you a set of a few pictures I took during my recent visit there.
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