The documentary series “Lightful Paths” is a journey to the most important religious destinations in Greece and abroad.

“Lightful Paths” with Eleni Biliali travels to the Prefecture of Laconia, in a small historical town of the eastern Peloponnese, Monemvasia. The rock of Monemvasia, as the Byzantines used to call it, is literally a small islet connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. Byzantine Monemvasia was founded in the 6th century, when inhabitants of ancient Sparta, which was known as Lacedaemon, relocated to the area. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Monemvasia experienced impressive economic growth. The fall of Istanbul to the Ottomans and the abolition of the Despotate were the starting point for the town’s decline. The old town of Monemvasia is a living medieval settlement. “Lightful Paths” visits this castle town of Monemvasia, the “the stone ship” as the poet Yannis Ritsos once called it, with its Byzantine churches and cobbled streets, transporting the viewers on a journey through time and history. The Holy Monastery of Agioi Anargyroi, Kosmas and Damianos, is two hours away from Monemvasia. The first reference to the existence of the monastery was made in Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos' golden bull, which delimited the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Monemvasia in 1293. The katholikon of the monastery is a triconch church, featuring late Byzantine architectural elements. Its interior is decorated with wonderful frescoes. The icon paintings in the church are attributed to Dimitrios Kakavas. Photis Kontoglou, a distinguished personality of decades past, visited the Monastery and dedicated his time and work to it. The abbot of the monastery, Father Grigorios, along with fathers Leontios and Aimilianos, talk to Eleni Biliali about the history and everyday life in the Monastery. Appearing in this episode are: 1st) Father Constantine, Vicar of Monemvasia 2nd) Father Grigorios, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Agioi Anargyroi, Parnon 3rd) Father Leontios, Brother of the Holy Monastery of Agioi Anargyroi 4th) Father Aimilianos, Brother of the Holy Monastery of Agioi Anargyroi