The church of the Taxiarchis at Melida is located in the cemetery of the settlement of Pitrofos. It follows the type of simple two-column cruciform inscribed church with a dome and a narthex to the west. It is built with rough field-stones, except for the eastern side and the dome which are constructed employing the brick-enclosed masonry system.
Inside, worthy of mention are the two marble unfluted columns that stand on a pedestal and are crowned with a capital with an echinus and an abacus. On the southern column, two Byzantine crosses have been carved in low relief, along with a combined ΙC ΧC and an inscription recording the prayer of the monk Arsenios. Part of the fresco decoration has been discovered in the apse of the central niche of the Holy Sanctuary: it can probably be dated to the 12th century. The church had a marble iconostasis, but it was dismantled in the 18th century and transferred to Mesaria to adorn the facade of the church of Agios Nikolaos. Today, part of the iconostasis is exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Andros. In the church at Melida, as in the church of the Taxiarchis at Mesaria, restoration work was carried out on the church and its surroundings developed within the framework of the 3rd Community Support Program, by the former 2nd Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities.
bibliography Demathas, L., Ο Ταξιάρχης Μεσαριάς και ο Ταξιάρχης Μελίδας. Στερέωση και συντήρηση βυζαντινών ναών της Άνδρου, Νήσος Άνδρος, Παράδοση, Πολιτισμός Ανάπτυξη, Κοινωνία, 2, Athens 2008, 14-17.
Bouras, Ch. – Bouras, L., Η Ελλαδική ναοδομία κατά τον 12ο αιώνα, Athens 2002, 67-69. Orlando A., Βυζαντινά Μνημεία της Άνδρου, A.B.M.E. 8, Athens 1955-56, 35-49. Pennas, Ch., Αποκαταστάσεις στα βυζαντινά μνημεία της Άνδρου και νεότερα αρχαιολογικά τεκμήρια, in Pallis G. (ed.), «Αποκαταστάσεις στα βυζαντινά μνημεία της Άνδρου και νεότερα αρχαιολογικά τεκμήρια, Ανδριακά Χρονικά 43, Kaireios Library, Andros 2016, 65-78.
Pallis G., Η γλυπτική της μέσης βυζαντινής περιόδου στην Άνδρο (9ος – 12ος): μία αποτίμηση, Νήσος Άνδρος, Παράδοση, Πολιτισμός Ανάπτυξη, Κοινωνία, 3, Athens 2009, 42-43.
