Agia Theodora Vasta Arcadia: The little miracle church that defies the laws of physics

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A few kilometers away from Megalopolis Arcadia and near the picturesque and beautiful village of Isari is the strangest church in the world.

A tiny church whose fame, however, is found at the ends of the world since it literally defies and abolishes the laws of physics.

It is a small miracle that attracts the attention of visitors as seventeen large trees spring from the roof of a small stone naidri while from its foundations the waters of a headland gush.

The roots of the trees are not visible and only the trunks and branches that pass through the walls and the roof can be seen.

The beautiful church is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as a “wonderful abyss”.

According to religious tradition, the number of trees is the same as the years of Saint Theodora when she died.

Legend has it that at the place where she was executed, her blood turned into a river and her hair into trees.

Many argue that the unique phenomenon has no logical explanation, as the weight of the plane trees would otherwise have demolished the small chapel or overturned its roof.

Science has tried to explain the miracle. In the summer of 1996, the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments asked the Geophysics Laboratory of the University of Patras to investigate a possible static problem.

At that time, a groundbreaking test was performed with georadar and electrical tomography.

The results showed that the root system of the trees has penetrated into the stone construction of the walls, creating gaps. Through them it reaches the ground, actually creating a grid that keeps the building upright.

Restoration works followed (1998-1999) in which the masonry was cleaned and grouted without cement injections, so that the roots of the trees would not dry out.

The church is Byzantine and was built in the 12th century AD. in honor of St. Theodora who was executed in the area. It is only four meters wide and five meters long.

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