The most complete
information guide about Athens, Greece
Churches in Athens
Agios Ioannis Stin Kolona (Saint
John around the Column)
The church of Saint John around the column is a little difficult
to find. It is situated in a small garden on Evripidou street
(Psirri). Its unique form and the religious beliefs, with which
it is associated, make it one of the most interesting Byzantine
buildings in Athens.
The
church is a single-nave basilica built around a Corinthian pillar
(column) that rises right through its roof. The pillar was part
of an earlier monument that used to stand on the site. This is
why the church carries the sobriquet “around the column”.
The
church is associated with a number of interesting religious beliefs:
it is dedicated to Saint John who is known as thermastis (warming)
and who was believed to relieve people from high fever and heal
them. This belief is related to the function of the site in Ancient
times. There was once here an ancient sanctuary of Asclepios with
a monument dedicated to the Athenian physician Taxaris who was
said to cure people suffering from a high temperature.
It
is worth adding that a high temperature was the main symptom of
malaria, a common ailment in Athens until the beginning of the
20th century. The belief was so widely accepted that, until recent
years, one could see the many colored threads that people used
to tie around the pillar in praying for recovery.
Towards
the end of his life, Saint John erected a pillar on
the ground and tied up lots of colored silk threads
representing every single ailment and put them around
the base of the pillar. He then said, “When I
die, people who are sick can come here and tie a silk
thread around the pillar and the thread will have to
be the color of their ailment and they will have to
repeat three times: “Saint John, I tie up my ailment
and I ask you to untie it” and so, they will be
healed.”.
Evripidou street - Psirri
Monastiraki - Omonia
For
typical words, please consult our Greek
glossary.