Panagia Hodigitria Church (Afendiko)
The church of Panagia Odegetria (Afentiko) is located in the northwestern part of the Lower Town of Mystras and was built in 1310 by its abbot, Pachomios. It is a large two-storey domed temple with two chapels on either side and exceptional architectural originality. While in the upper part, it has the form of a cruciform inscribed five-domed church with a narthex and a chancel, on the ground floor, it has the form of a basilica divided by two arched colonnades into three aisles. This type is known as the "mixed Mystras type" and was also used in other monuments of the region, such as the temple of Agios Dimitrios.
The church of Evangelistria is also called "Afentiko", possibly because the tomb of despot master Theodoros II Palaiologos (1384-1407), who, according to the tomb wall painting, had become a monk with the name Theodoritos, is on the north side of the church.
In the church’s interior, frescoes of exceptional art dating from the second decade of the 14th century are preserved and are the work of painters from Constantinople. Finally, during the Turkish occupation, the temple was used as a mosque and, at some point, was completely abandoned.