Church of Agia Eirini

At the historical commercial centre of Athens, in the middle of the picturesque square that nowadays constitutes a point of reference for the city, one can see the impressive church of Agia Eirini.

In the same spot there was a small church of the Byzantine Period, which in the beginning of the 18th was the Metochi of the Monastery of Penteli. During the Greek Revolution in 1821 it suffered serious damages; it was repaired in 1834-1835 and became the most important church of the new capital, which hosted official religious ceremonies. In order to cover the increasing demand, they assigned its reconstruction to the architect Lysandros Kaftantzoglou. Works started in 1846 and the inauguration of the church took place in 1850, while its interior decoration was completed later, in the period 1879-1892. The icons were made by Spyridonas Hatzigiannopoulos, the most important representative of ecclesiastical painting in the second half of the 19th century. As a matter of fact, this is considered as his most important work. The church continues to be used as the Metropolitan one until 1862 and during this period it was related to significant events of modern Greek history. Here they made the celebration of the first national anniversary in 1838, the funeral of Theodoros Kolokotronis in 1843, and the doxology for the establishment of the autonomy of the Church of Greece in 1850.

The church is a three-aisled basilica with a dome and two steeples of neoclassical style, an original building that combines western renaissance with Byzantine influences. Another architectural characteristic is the presence of two side conchs, which refer to the catholicons of Mount Athos.

For its construction they used material from demolished churches in Athens and from ancient ruins. The range of the subject matter of its wallpaintings is limited, with very few figures of saints, while in several of the walls there are passages from the Holy Bible. Its impressive gold-plated screen was donated by Tsar Nikolaos in 1850.

The church celebrates on the day of Agia Eirini, on May 5th.