Benefactors of the Greek Orthodox community of Xanthi
This route is about 2 km, about 60 minutes and of moderate difficulty. In it, the visitor will be able to tour buildings of architectural or religious interest at the same time, which were either built thanks to the donation of a benefactor from Xanthi, or are related to the residence or shop of the benefactor's family.

The role of benefactors was particularly important for the Greek Orthodox Christian populations during the Ottoman period, since they took care of the construction and decoration of schools, churches and buildings of public character (e.g. clubs) and thus contributed to the preservation of the ethnic and religious identity of the community.

The visitor starts from the chapel of Zoodochos Pigi on Lefkou Pyrgou Street and ends at the chapel of Agia Paraskevi in the heart of the old town. Along the way he will learn about the tobacco benefactors An. Sigalas, P. Stalios, M. Matsinis, the Kougioumtzoglou family, the teacher D. Chasirtzoglou, M. Floris etc. He will also "meet" the metropolitans of Xanthi and Peritheoriou Eugenios, under whose guidance and encouragement the churches of the old town were rebuilt and decorated after the catastrophic earthquake of 1829, and Ioakeim Sgouros, who rebuilt the Metropolitan Mansion and part of the monasteries.

Important were also the donations of professional guilds to the churches, such as the shoemakers' and the cobblers’ unions, which donated to the church of Akathist Hymn the icon of the Holy Trinity, or of Epirotan G. Kagialidis, who dedicated to the Metropolitan Church the icon of St. George of Ioannina, or of the Velios family, who donated several icons to Kavaki.

47. Church of Pammegistoin Taxiarchs

Brief documentation:

The Church of Pammegistoi Taxiarchs is located in the district of Kavaki and was rebuilt in 1834 according to the relief dedicatory inscription found in the narthex.
It is the oldest temple in Xanthi.
Its construction probably took place on the foundations of an earlier church of the Middle Byzantine period, which was destroyed during the earthquakes of 1829.
It is also called Kavaki (poplar), probably because there were poplars nearby. Oral tradition mentions that during the Turkish occupation, when the construction of bell towers was prohibited, Christians had put a bell on a small boat that was there and it rang with the wind.
The church is built according to the standards of the simple, three-aisled basilica and includes a gabled roof. The bell tower and narthex have been built in later phases than the rest of the church.
Of particular value is its wood-carved iconostasis, which is decorated with plant and animal elements. It includes icons of the 18th and 19th centuries, the most important of which were painted by an unknown painter in 1741, as well as those signed by the hagiographer Kyriakos from Ainos in 1833.
Also noteworthy is the embroidered icon of the archangel Michael, which was the work of the embroiderer Aikaterini Boullis and was dedicated to the church in 1839 by the Xanthi merchant Sgourov.


Category of thematic interest:  ARCHITECTURAL/HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS INTEREST


History:

The Church of Pammegistoi Taxiarchs is located on the east side of the old town, in the district of Kavaki. It is the oldest church in Xanthi and was rebuilt during the year 1834 according to the relief dedicatory inscription found in the narthex of the church.
Probably, its reconstruction took place on the foundations of an earlier church of the Middle Byzantine period, which was destroyed by the earthquakes of 1829. According to some oral traditions of the inhabitants of the city, the temple functioned for a certain period of time as a metropolitan. It is also called Kavaki (poplar), probably because there were poplars nearby. Oral tradition mentions that during the Turkish occupation, when the construction of bell towers was prohibited, Christians had put a bell on a small boat that was there and it rang with the wind.


Elements of architecture:

The church is built according to the standards of the simple, three-aisled basilica that dominated the architecture of the churches during the 18th and 19th centuries. The roof of the church is gabled and is made of wood and tile.
In the Holy Bema there is a large semicircular niche, while the narthex is built at a later stage than the rest of the temple. It also includes a women's loft, which is shaped in the form of a balcony. The bell tower of the church was also built at a later stage, probably in the early 20th century.


Description of other elements:

Of particular value is the wood-carved iconostasis of the church, which is decorated with plant and animal designs, and includes various icons of the 18th and 19th centuries. The most important are the one depicting Christ as the Great High Priest, the icon of the sweet-kissing Virgin Mary and the one of Archangel Michael, which date back to the year 1741. Of the other icons of the iconostasis, particularly interesting are those of the Three Hierarchs and Saints Constantine and Helen, which were created in 1833 by the hagiographer Kyriakos from Ainos. In the church there are still icons of the Thassian hagiographer Michael Evangelidis and the painter from Thessaloniki D. Stephanidis. Also noteworthy is the embroidered icon of the archangel Michael, which was the work of the embroiderer Aikaterini Boullis and was dedicated to the temple during the year 1839 by the Xanthi merchant Sgourov.
The Taxiarchs were patron saints of Xanthi until 1955.
There is also the Monastery of Pammegistoi Taxiarchs in the suburban forest north of Xanthi.


Purpose - Use: Church building


Characterization: utomatically protected, Competent Service: EFA of Xanthi


Dating (period): Third decade of the 19th century


Year of construction: 1834


Location of the monument: 41.144675734393765, 24.889056138062063


Bibliographic references:

•    Georgios Tsigaras, The churches of old Xanthi, Municipal Development Enterprise of Xanthi (DEAX) – PAKETHRA, Xanthi 2008
•    Religious Monuments of the Region of Eastern Macedonia – Thrace, Region of Eastern Macedonia – Thrace, Alexandroupolis 2008
•    Xanthi, The city with a thousand colors (Dimitris Mavridis ed.), Municipality of Xanthi – P.A.KE.THRA., Xanthi 2007


 Address: Evripidou and Orpheus


Visitable: Yes

 

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