Epirotes in Xanthi
This route is about 1 km long, lasts about 50 minutes and is of low difficulty. Through the route, the visitor will be able to get a taste of Epirus in Xanthi and admire the architectural mastery of the famous stone masons of Epirus.

The contribution of these builders to the reconstruction of old Xanthi was significant after the catastrophic earthquake of 1829 and is also associated with the settlement of other families from Epirus in Xanthi in the 19th century (e.g. notary and insurer Stefanos Blatsios, pediatrician Konstantinos Karabetsis, doctor Georgios Maletsidis etc.).

The craftsmen of Epirus built churches, houses, fountains and bridges in the city and the region, as well as carved stone reliefs found in temples and houses (e.g. crosses, figures of saints, etc.). Finally, the people of Epirus are associated with commissions and dedications of icons and other relics in the temples of old Xanthi. For example, the Epirote Georgios Kagialidis dedicated to the Metropolitan Church the icon of St. George in Ioannina.

45. Church of Agios Georgios

Brief documentation:

The Church of Agios Georgios is located in the homonymous district and was rebuilt in 1835 according to the inscription located on the outer side of the niche of the Holy Bema. The building was probably built at the expense of the tobacco merchant Kyriakos Nalbantoglou, whose tomb is placed inside the church.
It was rebuilt after the catastrophic earthquakes of 1829, possibly on the ruins of an earlier church of the Byzantine period, as according to some sources in the year 1394 there was a pilgrimage in the area with the same name.
The bell tower of the church was built at a later stage, in the year 1927.
It is a typical example of a three-aisled basilica church with a gabled roof. The masonry of the temple is dominated by local granite which is found in abundant quantity on the banks of the river Kosynthos.
It includes a narthex and a women's loft, while its iconostasis is wooden without any particular decorative elements. Inside the church, in front of the Metropolitan throne, there is on the floor the marble tomb of Kyriakos Nalbantoglou of 1837, with an illegible inscription.
The bell tower of the church is built according to neoclassical standards.
In the courtyard of the church there is a votive stele with a statue in neoclassical models, which is dedicated to the memory of Efthalia wife of Stavros Davidovich who was born in Xanthi and died in Kiev of cholera in 1866.
Inside the church there are various icons created mainly after the mid-19th century. The most remarkable of them are the icon of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary by the Thassian hagiographer Michael Evangelidis, which is painted in marble, the large icon of Agios Andreas, work of the Patras painter Takis Prionas and the icon of the Crucified, located in the Holy Bema of the Church and painted by Fotis Kontoglou in 1959.


Category of thematic interest:  ARCHITECTURAL/HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS INTEREST


History:

The Church of Agios Georgios is located in the homonymous district and was rebuilt in 1835 according to the inscription located on the outer side of the niche of the Holy Bema. The building was probably built at the expense of the tobacco merchant Kyriakos Nalbantoglou, whose tomb is placed inside the church.

It was rebuilt after the catastrophic earthquakes of 1829, possibly on the ruins of an earlier church of the Byzantine period, as according to some sources in the year 1394 there was a pilgrimage in the area with the same name.
The bell tower of the church was built at a later stage, in the year 1927.


Elements of architecture:

Elements of architecture    It is a typical example of a three-aisled basilica church with a gabled roof. The masonry of the temple is dominated by local granite which is found in abundant quantity on the banks of the river Kosynthos.
It includes a narthex and a women's loft, while its iconostasis is wooden without any particular decorative elements. Inside the church, in front of the Metropolitan throne, there is on the floor the marble tomb of Kyriakos Nalbantoglou of 1837, with an illegible inscription.
The bell tower of the church is built according to neoclassical standards.


Description of other elements:

In the courtyard of the church there is a votive stele with a statue in neoclassical models, which is dedicated to the memory of Efthalia wife of Stavros Davidovich who was born in Xanthi and died in Kiev of cholera in 1866.
Inside the church there are various icons created mainly after the mid-19th century. The most remarkable of them are the icon of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary by the Thassian hagiographer Michael Evangelidis, which is painted in marble, the large icon of Agios Andreas, work of the Patras painter Takis Prionas and the icon of the Crucified, located in the Holy Bema of the Church and painted by Fotis Kontoglou in 1959.


Purpose - Use: Church building


Characterization: Government Gazette 612B/30-4-1976 and Government Gazette 661/Β/17-5-1976, Government Gazette 1097/14.12-1995


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


Year of construction: 1835


Location of the monument: 41.14180752792063, 24.88652749480909


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
•    Vasilios Aivaliotis, Sofia Adamantidou, Lord Nalbantoglou, the Paraschidis family and their relationship with the Lalagka, Hasirtzoglou and Zouliami families. PAKETHRA, Xanthi 2008
•    Kapetanopoulos K., "Texts and letters concerning traditions of Xanthi. A text by K. Kapetanopoulos", Thracian Chronicles, vol. 35 (1979), pp. 69-70


 Address: Agiou Georgiou 13


Visitable: Yes

 

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