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information guide about Athens, Greece
Churches in Athens
Sotira Lykodimou (The
Savior of Lykodimos)
The Russian Church
The Church of the Savior (Sotira) of Lykodemos, the largest medieval
building in Athens also known as the Russian Church, is situated
on the corner of Filellinon street and Amalias avenue. It is one
of the most important Byzantine monuments of the 11the century.
From the 19th century, the church was dedicated to the Holy Trinity
(Agia Triada). It is the parish church of the Russian community
in Athens.
The
name Sotira Lykodimou is related to the initial dedication of
the church to the Transfiguration of the Savior and a certain
donor although there seem to have been a few variations on this
name. From the variations “Sotira Lykodimou” or “Sotira
Nikodemos”, the first is accepted as it is the one that
has been transmitted to today by oral tradition. It is generally
known as the Russian church because it is the focus of the Orthodox
Russian community.
This
Byzantine church was built a little before 1031 within the perimeter
of the city’s defensive wall. There are two inscriptions
on the church’s northern wall that indicate the date when
the church was built. The first mentions the year 1031 while the
second says that Stephanos, the major donor, died in 1044. Archaeological
research in the 19th century proved that the church was built
on the site of an early christian basilica which in its turn had
been built over a Roman bath.
In
comparison with other Byzantine monuments in Athens, the church
is expansive. Even today and despite the fact that it is surrounded
by much larger buildings, it still dominates the area in terms
of size and quality of construction.
By
its form it is a domed octagon. Internally the dome, with its
low drum, unifies the space and the same unified sense of grandeur
is evident externally. The sense of heaviness and power created
by its volumes and low roof is counteracted by the vertical motion
of the tall, three-sided narrow apses and the portals on the sides.
The
masonry follows a well-crafted cloisonné style. The rich
brick patterns (pseudo-kufic letters and dentils) with the alternative
use of bricks and stones, give the exterior its sculpted look.
The kufic patterns (decorative elements that imitate the old Arabic
writing in which the Koran was first written in the city of Kufa,
in present-day Iraq) are embedded into the walls, inserted in
small ceramic plates as well as form a frieze across the northern
and eastern walls. Some original painted decorations remains are
on the southern wall where one can still see the mural paintings
of Christ, Saint Stephen and Saint John the Apostle.
It
was a katholikon (main church) of a monastery during the Byzantine
period and during the Ottoman rule. The church suffered damage
from natural disasters, wars and the lack of respect by various
invaders. In addition to the destruction of 1687, with the invasion
of Francesco Morosini, the church was damaged by an earthquake
in 1701.
In
1780, when Ali Hakseki was rebuilding the defensive wall, all
the additional monastery buildings were demolished. It was then
that the church became the parish of the monastery of Kaissariani.
The church was further damaged in 1827 with shells dropped from
the Acropolis soon after the Greek War of Independence.
The
half-ruined church was purchased by the Russian Government in
1847 as the parish of the Russian community of Athens. In 1850,
the building was restored by Tsar Alexander II. The side tribunes
and the heavy bell tower were added and the interior decorated.
The post-Byzantine mural paintings were replaced by paintings
of German artist Ludwig Thiersch while the low marble Byzantine
screen, which was illustrated by various travelers, was replaced
by a tall Russian screen.
Ludwig
Tiersch
The
German painter Ludwig Thiersch (1825-1909) taught art
at the School of Arts in Athens. His presence influenced
art in Greece with the spread of the Nazarene style. It
used subjects from the life of Christ and was influenced
by the work of the famous Renaissance painter, Raphael.
Thiersch’s
decorative work in the Russian Church in Athens (he was
assisted by Spiridon Hatzigiannopoulos and Nikiforos Litras),
was crucial in the development of the Greek art. It established
a new style of religious painting that imitated western
pictorial traditions.
While
these alterations naturally reflect 19the century Russian taste
in art, they destroyed the church’s essential Byzantine
character. The work was supervised by the Greek engineer, Major
Tilemachos Vlassopoulos and the leader of the Russian community,
Dean Antonin Kapustin.
Antonin
Kapustin
The
Russian clergyman Antonin Kapustin (1817-1894) was one
of the first to study Athens’ Byzantine monuments.
He was a theologian and professor of the Theological Academy
of Kiev and became the vicar of the Russian church in
Athens. In this capacity and with his knowledge and charisma,
he supervised the excavation of the Roman baths underneath
the church and the restoration of the church.
Putting
aside criticism of the modification of the church’s
original form, it must be said that the restoration of
a Byzantine church was unique at that time when many other
Byzantine monuments were left in ruin, either because
ancient monuments were given priority or because of extremely
poor town planning.
The
results of Kapustin’s archaeological research were
published in the “Archaeological Journal”
and later in a monograph in Russian. In 1874, the Russian
Academy of Science published his work “Early Christian
Inscriptions in Athens”, the first systematic listing
of Byzantine inscriptions which is still used by experts
today. Kapustin also published a list with numerous documents
from the parish of the Holy Sepulchre in Athens.
The Orthodox Russian Community of Athens
The
interest of the Russian Tsar Nicolas I in Greek affairs had been
evident during the Greek War of Independence and the early years
of the Greek State (1830). The Russian Embassy in Athens regarded
the Russian Church as a focal point. The church was purchased
by the Russian Government and repaired with funds from the Russian
community.
Those
in charge of the church were people with a high social status
and education that were leading figures in the Russian community.
Their many charitable activities included the founding of the
Greek clergy and the restoration of numerous churches and monasteries
all over Greece. Those activities reflected and served the purposes
of the Russian government in regard to the religious and political
affairs of the young Greek State.
The
Russian-born Queen Olga in particular contributed significantly
to the development of the Russian community in Athens and the
establishment of the Russian church as a cultural center that
influenced religious music, painting and craftsmanship (liturgical
clothing).
Corner of Filellinon street and Amalias avenue
Syntagma
For
typical words, please consult our Greek
glossary.