The northeastern area of the entrance hall includes the chapel of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, which is considered to be one of the original structures. According to an inscription on the lintel of the western entrance, some sections of its frescoes date to 1538, the period when an artist of the Cretan School (perhaps even Theofanis of Crete himself) worked. It is possible that the frescoes on the exterior western wall uncovered during the previous years' renovations belong to him.
The recent frescoes were part of the work which took place in 1868, funded by 'a grant and subscription of the venerable monks Isuchios and Isaios of the respected monastery of Pantokratoros, through the hands of the hieromonk Benjamin and the late hieromonk Gregorios.' This work involved the repainting of older frescoes dating probably to the 15th century, parts of which are visible in the arch of the Sanctuary.
Since 1982, the icon screen of the chapel includes the miraculous icon of St Georgios of Faneromenos. The saint acquired this epithet due to a miracle he performed: He protected the icon and the monks in the Cell named in his honour in the region of Kapsalas, where it originally belonged, from thieves. According to the tradition, the icon was housed in the monastic community of St. Georgios of Plakari. During the period of Ottoman rule, thieves, pretending to be travellers, intended to enter the community to loot it. A youth met them at the entrance and, after escorting them outside, disappeared, leaving the thieves paralysed all through the night. The next morning, the monks were surprised to find the thieves who, terrified by their night-long paralysis, related the event to them. Subsequently, they identified the face depicted in the miraculous icon as being the same as that of the youth they had met. According to the same tradition, not only did the thieves repent, but one of them was inducted as a monk into the Cell of Plakari, while another joined the Skete of St Anna.
