ST DIONYSIUS CHURCH, ATHENS

Dionysius the Areopagite (Greek: Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης) was a judge of the Areopagus who, as related in the Acts of the Apostles, (Acts 17:34), was converted to Christianity by the preaching of the Apostle Paul during the Areopagus sermon. According to Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius, this Dionysius then became the first Bishop of Athens.

Dionysius is believed to be misidentified with the martyr of Gaul, Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris, Saint Denis. Since we can't be sure which stories align with whom, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Dionysius the Areopagite and Saint Denis of Paris are celebrated as one commemoration on 3 October.

The church of St Dionysios the Areopagite, patron saint of Athens, is on Skoufa Street, close to Likavitou Street. This used to be our parish church when we were living in Athens. Its architectural style is eclectic, combining elements from many past periods. It is an example of the search of new Greek identity after the Asia Minor disaster of 1922.

The church, designed by Anastasios Orlandos, began to be built in 1923 and was completed in 1931. It is built on the location of a smaller church which existed there since 1886, but which was demolished in 1900 to make way for new, larger church. The decoration of the church was planned by architect Georgios Nomikos and was made between 1935 to 1939. The interior frescoes are by artist Spyros Vassiliou and his studio between 1936 and 1939. The mosaics of Christ and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel in the church porch were added in 1972-1973 and were made by Sotirios Varvoglis.

The church is in a cross-in-square form with an impressive interior, highly decorated with frescoes, mosaics, wood carvings and many icons donated by prominent Athenian families, as the church is in the aristocratic neighbourhood of Kolonaki.

This post is part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,

and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme.