When the area was raided by bandits, Theodora was determined to help defend her village, but as a woman she could not do so. Theodora then disguised herself as a male soldier in order to fight, however, she did not survive and as she lay dying she spoke the following words: “Let my body become a church, my hair a forest of trees and my blood a spring to water them.”
This small church supports 17 large trees that grow from the roof and walls. There is no evidence of tree roots inside the church. A spring underneath the church waters the trees.