Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, or, as it is also called, Mitropoli, is one of the largest Orthodox churches in Athens, located on Mitropoleos Square. Construction of the cathedral began on Christmas Day 1842. The foundation stone was laid by King Otto of Greece and Queen Amalia.
For the construction of the huge walls of the cathedral, marble from 72 destroyed churches was used. Three architects took part in the design of the cathedral. The building was originally designed by Theophil von Hansen. After the lower level of the building was completed, construction was suspended due to lack of funds. A few years later, the construction of the cathedral was continued by the architect Dimitrios Zezos. After his death, the work was continued by the French architect François Boulanger. After 20 years, the work was completed. On May 21, 1862, in the presence of the king and queen, the cathedral was consecrated in honor of the Annunciation of the Mother of God.
The cathedral is a three-aisled domed basilica 40 meters long, 20 meters wide and 24 meters high. The architecture and interior decoration of the cathedral is made mainly in the Greco-Byzantine style.
The cathedral contains the tombs of two saints killed by the Turks. In the first one rests Saint Philotheus. He was tortured to death by the Turks in 1559 for the ransom of Greek women from Turkish harems. The second is the tomb of Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople. He was hanged by the Turks during the uprising for the independence of Greece. Until 1871, his relics rested in the Trinity Greek Church in Odessa, after which they were transported to Athens.
There are two statues in the square in front of the cathedral. The first is a monument to the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaeologus (Dragash), the second - to Archbishop Damascene (during World War II he was the archbishop of Athens, and in 1946 the regent of King George II and the prime minister of Greece).
Metropolis is the seat of the Bishop of Athens and all of Greece and an important spiritual center of Greek Orthodoxy.
