Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (Old Calendarists)

A teacher from the Monastery (Bitola), Maria Ioannidou, who used to be called “Hatzi – Maria”, was faithful to the old calendar. She was the spiritual child of Metropolitan Chrysostomos Kavouridis. She had travelled many times to the Holy Land and for this reason she was called “Hatzi-Maria”. She died in 1960 or 1961 (oral testimony), and in her will she gave her house, located in School Square, to the Genuine Orthodox Christians, to become a temple of the old calendar and some money to bury her remains in Jerusalem. Her wish was to make a temple of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. In 1962, the house was operated with the old calendar, as some alterations had been made to it. Priests came from Thessaloniki and Mount Athos occasionally.Around 1970 (oral testimony) the official inauguration of the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary took place.In 1974, the church acquired a permanent priest, Ioannis Tsaousidis, from Koilada Kozani, who served for 25 years until he passed away in 1999.

TEXT: Dimitris Mekasis
SOURCE: https://www.florinapress.gr/epistoles/ο ιερός-ναός-κοιμήσεως-της-Θεοτόκου