Greece's Ministry of Culture gives two ancient Byzantine temples to Church

Greece’s Ministry of Culture has restored ancient Byzantine churches. Photo: Metropolis of Kastoria

Greece's Ministry of Culture has transferred two ancient Byzantine churches, fully restored by specialists, to the Metropolis of Kastoria of the Church of Greece. The solemn return of the shrines to the local community took place in Kastoria on August 3, 2026, reports the UOJ in Greece.

Staff of the Antiquities Department restored the ancient Church of the Holy Archangels and the Church of the Great Martyr George in Omorfoklissia. In the St. George Church, specialists also restored a rare wooden icon of the heavenly patron dating to the 13th century, making it accessible to the faithful.

During the opening of the doors of the Holy Archangels Church, Metropolitan Kallinikos of Kastoria called upon Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni to symbolically "adopt" all of Byzantine Kastoria for the sake of preserving its spiritual heritage. The head of the Ministry of Culture, in response, named Kastoria, alongside Athos and Meteora, as one of the three most important centers of Byzantine tradition in the country.

The following day, on August 4, priests celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in many years in the restored Church of the Archangels. At the end of the service, Metropolitan Kallinikos served a memorial litia at the grave of Pavlos Melas, a hero of the struggle for the liberation of Macedonia, and his wife Natalia, who rest in this church.

Historians believe that this church was built as early as the 9th century, and in 1359 it was renovated by Symeon Uroš Palaiologos. It was here that his young son John – the future Venerable Ioasaph of Meteora, who became the second founder of the famous monasteries on the rocks of Meteora – was once proclaimed co-ruler.

As the UOJ previously reported, Greece's Ministry of Culture will finance the restoration of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

Read also