Assumption of Virgin Mary of Samothrace

The Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary of Samothrace is located in Chora, has been operating since 1875 and is one of the oldest churches on the island.
It is considered one of the most important samples of the island’s architecture as the church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary of Samothrace is a wooden roofed basilica. The church also houses many of the old local icons.
The most important relic of the Assumption of Virgin Mary of Samothrace, as wll as of all churches of Samothrace are the skulls of the Five Neomartyrs of Samothrace.
The Five Martyrs of Samothrace
After the massacre of Samothrace by the Turks in 1821, the few prisoners, among them the five young people (Manuil, Georgios, Michail, Theodoros and Georgios), were forced to convert to Islam. But the Neomartyrs, a few years later returned to the island and became again Christians, in 1835. The Turks realized this, perceived it as a deeply offensive act and after torturing them, killed them in Makri , Evros , on 6 April 1835. In Agia Anastasia of Makri, in fact, the crook from which one of them was hung is still kept.
Their memory is honoured every year on the Sunday after Easter at the Assumption of Virgin Mary of Samothrace.