Cathedral of the Annunciation (Athens)
The Assumption Cathedral Annunciation ( Greek Καθεδρικός Ναός Ευαγγελισμού της Θεοτόκου Kathedrikós Naos tis Evangelismou Theotókou , commonly known mostly short Mitropolis , Greek Μητρόπολις called) in Athens is the seat of the Orthodox Archbishop of Athens . It is located in the city center between the Acropolis and Syntagma Square .
history
After the Greek Revolution , part of what is now Greece became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1830/32 . Otto von Bayern was appointed king of the new kingdom of Greece . As early as 1833, the country's Orthodox Church declared itself to be autocephalous , i.e. legally independent from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople . As part of a comprehensive building program that Otto had carried out in the new capital and that was determined by a classicist ideal of Greece , planning began for a new cathedral for the capital of the Greek state, which had been re-established after almost 400 years of occupation. The king laid the foundation stone in 1842. It was consecrated on May 21, 1862 in the presence of the royal couple .
On May 14, 1962, Sophia of Greece married the Spanish heir to the throne Juan Carlos de Borbón y Borbón in the cathedral .
The building was damaged in the 1999 earthquake, which resulted in shoring and scaffolding. The renovation and repair of the structural damage has now been completed.
To the right of the church is the Panagia Gorgoepikoos , also known as the Little Mitropolis , a Byzantine church from the 13th century with numerous ancient spolia .
architecture
The Annunciation Cathedral was designed by Theophil Hansen in a mixed Romanesque-Renaissance-Byzantine style. After Hansen left Athens, his designs were modified by the Greek architect Dimitrios Zesos in a "Greek-Byzantine" style. François Boulanger and Panagiotis Kalkos were also involved in the execution . The building material is marble , which was collected from 72 destroyed churches.
The cathedral follows the basilica scheme with a three-aisled nave , transept, choir and apse . The crossing is crowned by a Byzantine dome . The portal front is flanked by two bell towers.
Furnishing
The interior is richly decorated with frescoes , icons and stone carvings, the style of which is based on the Byzantine canon of forms . Important shrines are the shrines of St. Philothea († 1589) and Patriarch Gregory V († 1821), who are venerated as martyrs for the freedom of Greece and Orthodoxy.
Web links
- History and description (English)
Coordinates: 37 ° 58 '30.9 " N , 23 ° 43' 48.6" E