Another small church on Ermou Street, the heart of a popular shopping district, is the Church of Panagia Kapnikarea. Panagia as we’ve already seen relates to the Virgin Mary but more interestingly Kapnikarea relates to either the tax collector responsible for the church or the tax on residential buildings that produced smoke from cooking nearby. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary this church actually belongs to the University of Athens.
The Church of Panagia Pantanassa is another one of those tiny churches that you could almost but not quite blink and miss it. One of the oldest churches in Athens its name come from the Greek for the Virgin Mary. It has some confused origins, either dating from the 7th or the 9th century depending on which source you trust. Located at Monastiraki Square, one of the busiest areas of Athens, it was curious to see how few people were paying attention to it – now lower than the ground level it initially would have dominated this part of the city.
The Cathedral has a number of names including the Holy Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary. It’s the principal Greek Orthodox church in Athens and is the seat of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. Building began on Christmas Day in 1842 using marble from 72 demolished churches.
On my last full day in Athens I decided that it was about time that I explored some of the city’s churches. My first of these was Agia Dynami partly because it was nestled under the Electra Metropolis Hotel and I could see it from my hotel balcony. The Greek Church leased the property to the hotel franchise in 2016.
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