More than a thousand chapels dot the Greek island of Tinos. In a rare centuries-old tradition, the mostly simple, room-sized stone structures are painstakingly maintained by the ordinary families that own them.
These private whitewashed chapels with miniature bell towers belong to octogenarians and Generation Z, goat farmers and hotel owners, Orthodox Christians and Catholics who worship daily and de facto atheists.
What they have in common is an unwavering dedication to preserving the diminutive churches their ancestors built — and to throwing a liturgical and community celebration called panigiri around the feast day of the Virgin Mary or saint they honor.
Read Full Article »