Church of Agia Paraskevi Grizano

The Church of Agia Paraskevi is located north of Grizanos at a distance of five kilometers, in a nice location full of oak trees. Near the church there is a spring with clean water and an old well for the needs of the people who lived in the surrounding area until the liberation of Thessaly in 1881. It is believed to have been built before 1500AD. by inhabitants of lowland Thessaly who fled there to protect themselves from the persecution of the various conquerors. It was the Parish Church of the Livestock Settlement that was created at that time and had the name of the Church of the same name, “settlement of Agia Paraskevi”. This can be seen from the Narthex (shed) that the Church has and from the room with a fireplace that was next to the shed for the parish priest’s accommodation.

Today the area around the church is uninhabited and there are no traces in the area because the settlement was a cattle ranch and the inhabitants lived in huts made of reeds which they plastered with mud. Over time the traces were lost. In 1542 AD in a document reconstituting the diocese of Gardiki, the settlement of Agia Paraskevi is mentioned as the settlement of Grizanos. The elders of Grizanos reported that every year, on July 26, the residents of Grizanos celebrated together with the residents of Agia Paraskevi and slept in the church on the eve. In the area of the church, many events and gatherings were held on various daily issues. Nowadays, the custom is preserved on July 26, to celebrate Agia Paraskevi and the Grizanites to attend church there as in the past.