One of the most beautiful and idyllic places in Syros, unknown to the public, is located in the southwestern part of the island, enchanting everyone with the magical landscape that spreads in front of it and the waters of the Aegean Sea.
This is the tiny but highly impressive church of Agios Stefanos, in the settlement of Galissas, one of the most beautiful churches not only on the island but in the entire Cyclades.
The chapel of Agios Stefanos, "wedged" between rocks in a cave, almost by the sea, shocks everyone with its special location and the view it offers to those who discover it and visit it up close.
This whitish touch in the hazy wilderness of the rocks is a place of incredible beauty that offers its visitors a dreamlike view of both the waters of the Aegean and the sunset.
According to tradition, the church of Agios Stefanos was built by a local fisherman named Stefanos who was threatened by a giant octopus that pulled him into the sea. In order to be saved, he made a vow to the saint whose name he bore, and so he founded this small church in this remote place. It needed neither a floor nor a ceiling, for that part was played by the wild rocks, with the exception of two walls on the right and left.
The church is celebrated every year on August 19 and December 26, and after the Divine Liturgy, Syrian loukoumi and mastic are offered, as it happened after the first Liturgy, when the fisherman himself served the people.
To visit it, one must follow the path that starts from the main beach of the settlement and covers a distance of about 15 minutes. Alternatively, it can be reached by sea.
