For a visit to Athens to be complete one cannot miss Byzantine Churches. These are monuments of art and beauty. Byzantine Churches in Athens center are points of worship and marvel that have had thousands of visitors irrespective of their religious beliefs.
Emperor Basil II was the Byzantine Emperor from 976 CE to 1025 CE. Following his era, a Christian reconstruction took place during the 11th and the 12th centuries. That time period is often called the Golden Age of Byzantine Art in Athens. A number of important Byzantine churches were built in Athens along with numerous monasteries. Here is a list with the most emblematic ones.
1. The Old Metropolis Cathedral
This charming church is located in Metropolis Square near the new Cathedral. It was built in the late 12th century. It is dedicated to Virgin Mary “Gorgoepikoos Panayia”. The name means Virgin Mary who is fast in listening to people’s prayers. It is also dedicated to St Eleftherios.
Construction used Ancient and Byzantine bas reliefs. This is such a common occurrence, we see it happening all the time. On the facade of the church, there is an ancient frieze, It is a presentation of attic festivals and it belonged to a monument of the 4th century BCE.
The building’s dimensions are 12.20 x 7.60 m. The church is a four-column, cruciform divided into three parts with an octagonal dome. The central part is higher than the two sides.
The walls of the church are made entirely of large marble undecorated stones and reliefs, which come from ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine monuments. There were no bricks used anywhere. Its builders processed the materials from classical antiquity and added new decorative elements to suit the modern architecture of their time.
The church was the official Episcopal Seat of Athens following the removal of the bishops from the Parthenon by the Franks and later the Turks.
During the period from 1839 to 1842, it was used as a library. The new metropolis nearby was built between 1842 and 1862 as the cathedral of Athens. It is a domed church built in the new Byzantine and neoclassical style.
2. Kapnikarea
Kapnikarea is a small cruciform domed Byzantine church located in the middle of Ermou Street, the busiest shopping street in the historical center of Athens.
It is dedicated to Virgin Mary. It may be one of the most well-known Byzantine churches in Athens.
On this spot in Ancient Athens, there was a small temple devoted to one of the goddesses Athena or Demetra. On the foundations of that Greek temple, in the early Byzantine years, Evdokia, the Athenian wife of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, erected a Christian church. The church has built-in elements of the previous temple such as columns with Roman capitals and built-in sculptures and inscriptions.
The building we see today was constructed in the 13th century on top of the pre-existing one.
In 1834 the city constructed Ermou Street which was to be one of the busiest streets of Athens. Since Kapnikarea was located in the middle of the new street, the authorities at the time debated relocating the church or even demolishing it!
However, thanks to the intervention of Ludwig of Bavaria father of the king Otto, and Neofytos Metaxas Bishop of Athens, the church was preserved at the present location.
3. Agios Nikolaos Ragavas – Saint Nicholas Ragavas
The Church of Agios Nikolaos Ragava dates back to the 11th century CE. It is located northeast of the Acropolis, just below Anafiotika of Plaka.
It was built by the large Byzantine Ragava family and originally operated as a private church.
The area around the church was formerly called Ragavas.
The church has similar architectural and decorative features to other temples of this period, such as Agioi Apostoloi and the Temple of Sotira Lykodeimos.
4. Agia Ekaterini – Saint Ekaterini
At the location of an Artemis temple, a Vasilika was built in the first Christian years.
Today’s Agia Ekaterini was constructed in the 11th century. It is located near the Lysikrates Monument in the Agia Ekaterini Square. In the corner of the square, there are the ruins of a Roman monument.
In the past, it was part of the monastery of St. Catherine of Sinai.
The current form of the church emerged after restoration and expansion work during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are one of the oldest restoration works of a Byzantine monument within the Greek state.
5. Agios Ioannis Theologos – Saint John the Theologian
The church of Agios Ioannis the Theologian is one more very beautiful Byzantine church in Plaka. The church dates back to the early 12th century and is one of the few Byzantine churches in Athens that survives without any particular later additions.
On the inside, we will see well-preserved frescoes dating to the early 13th century.
Architecturally it belongs to the cruciform temples with two columns.
It is located at Erotocritou Street.
6. Sotiras tou Kotaki – Saviour of the Kotaki
At the beginning of Kydathinaion Street, in the center of Plaka, is the Byzantine church of the Savior, which is known as the church of Sotira of Kottakis, a name associated with its owner.
It was built in the early 11th century and belonged to the type of a simple cruciform inscribed temple, with a dome supported by four columns.
Inside the church, the surviving frescoes are post-Byzantine, of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the marble iconostasis is a work of the 20th century.
In the small garden formed in front of the temple, a 17th-century marble fountain and scattered ancient architectural pieces are preserved.
It has been renovated several times.
7. Metochi Panagiou Tafou – Metochi of the Holly Grave
This is the first church that receives the Holy Light from Jerusalem on the night before Sunday Easter. The Church is named Agioi Anargyroi, or as it is more commonly called, Metochi of the Holy Grave.
It is located in Anafiotika in Plaka and it is a 17th-century church. It was built on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite and functioned as a nunnery. The Katholikon, the central church of the old monastery is a vaulted single-aisle basilica.
Since the 18th century, it is associated with the religious ceremonies of Easter and attracts many visitors, especially in recent years.
8. Panayia Chryssokastriotissa
The church of Panayia Chrysokastriotissa dates back to the 12th century and is considered to have been built on the site of an ancient sanctuary of the goddess Hestia.
It is located at the corner of Thrasyvoulou and Aliberti streets in Plaka.
It belongs to the type of single-aisle basilica.
Unfortunately, very few elements are preserved from the original form. It has undergone many significant alterations over the centuries, both due to the war conflicts during the Greek Revolution of 1821 and during the efforts to restore it in the years after the liberation.
According to popular belief, the miraculous icon of the church protects believers in difficult circumstances.
9. Sotira Lycodimou Russian church
Sotira Lycodimou is the Russian Orthodox Church of Athens or Russian Church as it is known among Russians. It is a Christian church in Athens dedicated to the Holy Trinity that serves the Russian community.
Ιt is the biggest medieval building in Athens.
The Russian Church is located on Filellinon Street.
Dated back in 1031, it was part of a Roman Catholic monastery that was closed in 1701. In the 1850s the building was renovated by Charles Alexander the 2nd who donated the tower.
10. Agii Apostoloi tou Solaki – Saints Apostoli of the Solaki
Agii Apostoli of the Solaki is located in the compound of the Ancient Agora excavation.
It is one of the oldest churches in Athens from 1000 to 1025 AD. It was constructed on the ruins of a Roman building of the 2nd century.
In the 1950s, following a renovation, it was restored to its original form.
Many post-Byzantine frescoes of the Church of Agios Spyridonas which has been demolished were transported to Agii Apostoloi.
11. Panagia Pantanassa
The Church of Panagia Pantanassa or Holy Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is a three-aisled basilica that was built in the 10th century.
The church belonged to the monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. This was a now ruined monastery on Monastiraki Square, between Athinas and Mitropoleos streets, opposite the Monastiraki Station in the center of Athens.
The church was initially known as the Great Monastery. Later it became known as a small monastery, “Monastiraki” in Greek, which eventually became the name of the entire district.
12. Agios Demetrios Loumbardiaris – Saint Demetrios
It is a beautiful basilica of the 16th century with remarkable frescoes.
The church was built during the Turkish occupation. According to prevailing tradition, its name Loumpardiaris is due to an incident that took place in 1658.
The Turk guard of the Acropolis Yusuf had placed a large cannon (lombarda) in the Propylaea of the Acropolis with the aim of destroying the church and killing the believers in it on the eve of St. Demetrios celebration. However, a storm broke out and a thunderbolt fell on the firebox, killing Yusuf.
The church of Agios Dimitrios Loubardiaris is located on the hill of Filopappou in Athens.
During the restoration of the church in 1955, damaged frescoes were discovered, which according to the founding inscription date back to 1732. Next to the temple, there is a tourist pavilion.
13. Agii Asomatoi – Saints Asomati
The Holy Temple of Agioi Asomaton is a building of the Byzantine era and is located in Athens, a short distance from Thissio, on Ermou Street, in the homonymous square (Agion Asomaton Square).
The small church of Agios Asomatos, although clear chronological reports are missing, experts estimate that it was built in the second half of the 11th century.
Over the centuries it underwent many changes, especially during the 19th century, as a result of which its original form was altered.
In 1959 and 1960 restoration works were carried out that brought back the temple to its original form.
Due to changes that occurred in the area, today the church is about two meters below street level. It is caved with stone blocks and framed by bricks.
14. Agios Ioannis tis Kolonas – Saint John of the Column
This small church does not come to mind when one thinks of the Byzantine churches in Athens. Actually, most people pass by without noticing it that much.
But it is one of the oldest temples in Athens. It was built in the 6th century CE.
In the area of the sanctuary and on its left side there is an ancient column of Corinthian style. Hence Saint John of Kolona.
Archaeologists believe that in the past there was an Asclepieion at the exact location. There was also a monument dedicated to Toxari, the Athenian physician, who was considered a healer of fevers and helped the Athenians overcome the plague of 430 BCE.
Saint John the Baptist was thought to be the healer of all sicknesses of the head. Visitors may see on the column offerings to the Saint offering by the faithful expressing gratitude for his help.
This very small 1500 years old chapel is located at 70 Evripidou Street, right next to the Varvakeios Market.
15. Agioi Theodoroi – Saints Theodori
The Church of Agios Theodoros in Klafthmonos Square is a Byzantine church in Athens, built in the middle of the 11th century.
It is located at the intersection of Evripidou and Skouleniou streets, in the center of Athens.
The temple was built on the site of an older temple that, according to tradition, had been erected by Empress Evdokia.
During the revolution of 1821, it was destroyed but it was renovated in 1840 without alterations from the initial construction. In the 20th century, the interior of the church was hagiographed by Athanasios Kandris.
In 1967, during the maintenance works of the temple, tombs and a part of a Roman mosaic were found under the temple.
16. Agii Asomati Taxiarches – Saints Taxiarches
Petraki Monastery or Agii Asomati Taxiarches is a medieval church that is today located in the city of Athens, in Kolonaki, at 14, Gennadiou Street.
It was built in the 13th century. The church belongs to the Petraki Monastery (18th century). In the cross-domed church, visitors may see frescoes dating back to 1719.
In 1834, when the capital of Greece was transferred from Nafplio to Athens, the Petraki monastery was briefly transformed into a gunpowder warehouse.
Byzantine churches in Athens are a true treasure for the city and a wonderful walk as one explores them one by one.