The Relics of Saint David the Dendrite of Thessaloniki

During the period of the Latin rule of the house of Montferrat in Thessaloniki (1204-1222), the sacred relic of Saint David the Dendrite was transferred to Italy and in 1236 it was in Pavia, from where it was transferred to Milan in 1967. By the actions of the late Metropolitan of Thessaloniki Panteleimon II, it was returned to Thessaloniki and was placed in the Basilica of Saint Demetrios on September 16, 1978, while today it is kept in the Monastery of Saint Theodora in the center of Thessaloniki. His memory is celebrated on June 26.

 

Saint Theophano the Empress and the Founding of the Monastery of Saint Anastasia the Pharmakolytria in Thessaloniki

According to tradition, the Chapel of the Dormition of the Theotokos pre-existed the Sacred Monastery of Saint Anastasia the Pharmakolytria, having been established in 803 AD, and a brotherhood of monks lived in monasticism in the historic chapel of the Panagia who especially honored Saint Anastasia the Pharmakolytria. The Chapel of the Dormition was built within the Royal Estate of Empress Theophano Augusta, wife of Emperor Leo VI the Wise.

Theophano lived in Byzantium with her husband Leo VI the Wise during the reign of Emperor Basil the Macedonian (867-886). A misunderstanding between her father-in-law and her husband resulted in Emperor Basil the Macedonian ordering the exile of Theophano and her husband Leo VI the Wise to the Royal Estates, a dowry of Theophano which was the area where the Monastery of Saint Anastasia the Pharmakolytria is now built, in Vasilika of Thessaloniki.

The Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki

Just as Constantinople is adorned with the unique work of art dedicated to the Wisdom of God, so Thessaloniki has its own "Hagia Sophia". It is a representative example of the Byzantine churches of the city, revealing its deep theology. And indeed Thessaloniki is the city that respectfully maintains its churches. It keeps all its churches in operation. Thus, the Church of "the Wisdom of God", which is located in the center of its marketplace, stands loftily inviting passers-by to rest mentally in its peace. Although it is a monument of the Byzantine period and in fact of the first centuries and it could have been deserted, the deep faith of the Christian does not leave it. It always gives her the value and grandeur she deserves. It is very characteristic that of all the cathedrals dedicated to the Wisdom of God, only the church of Thessaloniki is in operation.

The Church of Saint Athanasios in Thessaloniki and the Greek Revolution of 1821

The Church of Saint Athanasios is located in the center of the city of Thessaloniki, southeast of the Church of Acheiropoietos, at the junction of Egnatia Street with Sokratous Street.

According to an inscription above the southern entrance, the church was built in 1818. It is a three-aisled wooden-roofed basilica with a nave, an architectural type that was widespread in Macedonia during the Turkish occupation and especially in the 19th century.

However, one of the tragic events of the Greek Revolution in Thessaloniki, which is associated with the church, and remains unknown in the collective memory of the city, is what happened in the then newly built Church of Saint Athanasios.

The Paralyzed Man Who Was Kicked Out of the House of Saint Haralambos

Metochion of Saint Haralambos in Thessaloniki

 

Father Leontios Anastasiadis, commonly known as Papaleontios, was a formerly married hieromonk, a neptic and wonderworker, from Moutalaski, Caesarea. After long pastoral activity from Cappadocia to Adrianople, he arrived in Thessaloniki during the exchange of populations with his family, where he took over as pastor of the Church of Saint Haralambos, a Metochion of the Holy Monastery of Simonopetra. He died at the age of 82, in 1932, having left a reputation as a saint and wonderworking priest, with great pastoral and philanthropic activity in Thessaloniki.

The Discovery of the Relics of Saint Anysia of Thessaloniki in 1980

 

 

Saint Anysia was born to a wealthy and pious Christian family in Thessaloniki. Upon the death of her parents, she dedicated herself to vows of chastity and poverty, praying and helping the poor. In 298, while she was on her way to church, a Roman soldier apprehended her. Discovering she was a Christian, he beat her, and intended to drag her to a pagan temple to sacrifice to the Roman gods. When she refused and confessed Christ to be the true God, she spit in his face, and he murdered her by driving a sword through her stomach. Devout Christians then buried her with honors and eventually a church was built over her grave.

Thessaloniki Hosts the Largest Manger Scene in Europe for 2020

The Greek city of Thessaloniki hosts the largest manger scene in Europe for 2020.

What makes the scene unique is that it does not only include the Holy Family, the Angels, the Three Magi, the animals and the shepherds, but also the palace of Herod and the scene where the Archangel Gabriel offers a lily to the Virgin Mary.

Chapel of Saint Euthymios the Great in Thessaloniki

The Chapel of Saint Euthymios is attached to the east side of the south wing of the transept of the Basilica of Saint Demetrios in Thessaloniki. It is in the form of a small three-aisled basilica, and is decorated with an interesting ensemble of wall-paintings. The wall-paintings of the chapel are representative examples of Palaiologan art of the early 14th century in Thessaloniki, and follow the iconographic program typical of the period, though atypical of a chapel for its grand scale, with scenes from the Twelve Great Feasts, the Miracles and Teachings of Christ, and from the Synaxarion of Saint Euthymios. The scenes are unfolded as a narrative, one next to the other, and are not divided into separate panels. According to an inscription on the north wall, the cost for the decoration was defrayed in 1302-1303 by the protostrator Michael Doukas Glavas Tarchaneiotis, who was the founder of the Pammakaristos Monastery in Constantinople, and his wife Maria Palaiologina.

The Church of Saint Joseph the Betrothed and Saint Photini in Evosmos of Thessaloniki

Evosmos, a suburb of Thessaloniki, has a church in the process of being completed dedicated to both Saint Joseph the Betrothed and Saint Photini the Samaritan. In the chapel being used for services is an iconostasis with Joseph the Betrothed situated next to the icon of the Theotokos, and Photini the Samaritan is situated next to Joseph the Betrothed. Here are some of the latest photos.

The First Church Built in Honor of Saint Nektarios

Icon of St. Nektarios blessing Kymina

The first church built in honor of St. Nektarios the Wonderworker was built by Protopresbyter Nikolaos Meletides in the early 1960's in Kymina, Thessaloniki. This church contains the priestly stole of St. Nektarios from Aegina as a sacred relic and the shrine has become a source of many miracles for the faithful of the region of Macedonia and elsewhere.

3 Greek Orthodox Shrines Dedicated to Saint Nikephoros the Leper

1. Church of Saint Nikephoros the Leper in the village of Emporio on the island of Santorini.

It was consecrated on June 21, 2014 and is the first church dedicated to Saint Nikephoros the Leper.

30 Greek Orthodox Shrines Dedicated to Saint Irene Chrysovalantou (2 of 3)

...continued from part one.

11. Chapel of Saint Irene Chrysovalantou, Saint Nektarios and the Dormition of the Theotokos in Stenaka of Oinousses in Chios

Church of Saint Panteleimon in Thessaloniki

The Church of Saint Panteleimon is a late Byzantine church in Thessaloniki, Greece, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The church lies in the eastern part of the old city, near the Tomb of Galerius (the "Rotunda"), at the junction of Iasonidou and Arrianou streets. Its current dedication to Saint Panteleimon was given to the church after the end of Ottoman rule in 1912, and its original dedication is therefore disputed. It is speculated that the name of Saint Panteleimon was borrowed from the northern chapel dedicated to the Saint of the neighboring Church of Panagouda, in which the vessels of the church were transferred when it was converted into a mosque by the Turks.

Church of the Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki (14th cent.)

The Church of the Holy Apostles is a 14th-century Orthodox church in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. The church is located at the start of Olympou Street, near the city's western medieval walls.

As evidenced by remnants of a column to the south of the church and a cistern to its northwest, it originally formed part of a larger complex. Consequently it appears that the church was originally built as the katholikon of a monastery.

The Veneration of Saints Cyril and Methodios in Greece

By John Sanidopoulos

Both Saints Cyril and Methodios were born in Thessaloniki, Greece in the early 9th century. Their missionary activity in the Slavic lands, which was done on behalf of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and their death took place later that same century, with Cyril reposing in Rome in 869 and Methodios in Great Moravia in 885. Their disciples immediately recognized them as Saints, and soon after their repose so did all those lands in which they reposed and had successful missions, especially in Bulgaria, Moravia and Rome. However, despite the fact that much was written about them in Greek over the centuries, they were not recognized as Saints for many centuries in Greece and by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This is probably due to the fact that, according to the custom of the Orthodox Church, Saints are usually initially recognized at the local level, where they flourished and where their holiness especially shined. And as the veneration of these Saints grows locally, it becomes officially recognized and their veneration spreads outside of their local area.

Synaxis of All Saints of Thessaloniki

On the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, the Church celebrates the memory of all the Saints associated with the city of Thessaloniki.

In the detailed icon above of All Saints of Thessaloniki, depicted at the center of all the many Saints is the patron of the city, St. Demetrios, and the enlightener of the city, St. Paul.

"You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory." - 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12

The Veneration of Saint Gregory Palamas in Kastoria

St. Gregory Palamas, the New Chrysostom, in the Church of the Holy Three.

Saint Gregory Palamas reposed in Thessaloniki in 1359 and was officially canonized nine years later in 1368 by his disciple and biographer, Ecumenical Patriarch Philotheos Kokkinos. Philotheos Kokkinos also wrote about miracles performed during the lifetime of Saint Gregory, as well posthumous miracles. Among these posthumous miracles are two miracles that took place in Kastoria. In one of these, we read how on account of the miracle performed by Saint Gregory for a woman named Zoe, clergy and notables of Kastoria had an icon made of him, built a church in his honor, and began to commemorate him yearly, all before his canonization in 1368. Thus the first icon and church dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas were located in Kastoria. Unfortunately, today we do not know the location of this church or icon.

Metropolitan Church of Saint Gregory Palamas in Thessaloniki

The Metropolitan Church of Saint Gregory Palamas is one of the most beautiful churches in Thessaloniki. It enshrines the relic of Saint Gregory Palamas, who served as Archbishop of Thessaloniki from 1350 to 1359 A.D., and who was proclaimed at his canonization shortly after his repose as "the greatest among the Fathers of the Church."

Holy New Martyr Theocharis of Neapolis (+ 1740)

St. Theocharis of Neapolis (Feast Day - August 20)

Saint Theocharis was orphaned at a young age. In 1740 the Ottoman State was at war, and young Theocharis was taken with other Christian boys to a concentration camp to train him as a soldier. There, he was spotted by the judge of Neapolis (Nevsehir) who took a liking to the boy. The judge took Theocharis out of the camp and brought him to work on his estate.

The Holy Spring of Saint Paraskevi Outside Thessaloniki

A few kilometers outside of Thessaloniki, shortly before arriving at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti, is the village of Agia Paraskevi. It is a beautiful village built on a hill, with a fertile stretched out plain.

A true blessing of the village, besides the grave of Saint Paisios the Athonite, is the miraculous holy spring of Saint Paraskevi.