Church of Saint George of Ioannina
It is located in Square Parghs of Ioannina. The relics of the Saint, who is patron of the city, are kept in the church.
Saint George, was hanged by the Turks at age of 30, on January 17, 1838, from the plane tree that existed in the locality Kourmanio, near the gate of the city castle, when he refused to renounce Christianity.
Although the body of the Saint left hanging for days, it was not altered while a bright sign was permanently over his head at night and made many miracles in patients. Those miracles persuaded the Turks to accept the sanctity of St. George and ordered to be buried with the highest values, which was done by the bishop Ioakim, at the Cathedral of St. Athanasius. The rendering of relics of St George, was done in 1971.
Church of Assumption of Holy Mary of Perivleptos
The church of Perivleptos, is dedicated to the Dormition of Mary and it is built on a low hill at the southern entrance of the city. Initially there was a Catholic monastery founded by Abbot Epiphanius in 1647.
Abbot Epiphanius (1568-1648) was born in Ioannina, but lived mainly in Venice, where he ran a commercial enterprise with his brother. Although he was not highly educated he arranged for the publication of books at his own expense. Within the Giannina except the Perivleptos church he founded and Epiphanius School. An inscription, near the southern door of koimititriakis today, church Peribleptos informs us that St. Cosmas of Aetolia taught here, on 4 August 1770. The church of Peribleptos was built as a three-aisled domed basilica. The nave is covered with domes, while the sides with lowered domes (oven). The frescoes of the apse were made in 1842 from Ioannina painters Theodosius and his son Constantine as indicated on decorative oval panels shown at the base of the niche, under the representation of the Great High Priest.
Holy Temple of Prophet Elias
It is the central church of Platanias, built on the eastern foothills of Driskos.
It is a three-aisled, wooden-royal basilica with three arches east, of which the central and the south are tripartite, while the north is semicircular. Along the southern side, there is a arched arcade. The temple is housed with a quadruple roof. There are three building phases in the monument. In the oldest (later Byzantine) period, the eastern part of the southern side and the southern arch belong. In the next they belong, the central northern part of the eastern side (or part of the eastern side) and part of the northern wall. The third and last phase dates back to 1938, when the women’s knight was demolished and extended westward. At the same time, there is also the porch that exists along the southern side.
Church of St Nicholas of the Market
The church of St Nicholas of the Market, is located near today’s Independence Street. It shall also bear the name “Saint Nicholas of Bath”, because the first Turkish bath built in the city was near.
In this position it seems that there was a temple from the early 17th century, which as it is stated in 1630 was demolished by Recep Aga’s son. The church was rebuilt between 1647 and 1749, and again destroyed in 1820, during the events of Ali Pasha and the burning of the city by the sultan troops.
In the form that is maintained today Saint Nicholas began to be built in 1837, with sponsorship by Zosimadon brothers and C. Hatzikonsta.
The church follows the type of three-aisled basilica. Great interest is caused by the icons of the church. The icons of Russian origin, strongly influenced by the style of the Nazarene painters, were donated to the church in 1841 by George Hatzikonsta. Inside the church several more images of large dimensions of Russian origin are kept. From the relics of the temple should especially be mentioned those of G.Chatzikonsta. This is a gospel of 1837 with silver bindings, as well as a chalice, a paten and asterisk, works of 1828, Russian laboratories.
Church of St. Nicholas Kopanon
The church of St. Nicholas Kopanon, is located north of the city of Ioannina, near Limnopoula in the north exit of the town, on the way to Perama. In this area women used to wash clothes and beat the rugs in the water. This is why the church got the name of Kopanon (beaten).
According to tradition, the church existed before the movement of Dionysios the Philosopher, it was burnt down in 1820 during operations of Hoursit against Ali Pasha and remained in ruins until the reconstruction of 1843. As evidenced by inscription plate fitted on the left of the southern entrance door, founder of the church was the Nousias Chrisos, master builder of the Guild of takiantzidon, the craftsmen who made fezzes and generally external accessories of costumes. The church is connected with both legends and with dramatic historical events of the city. According to tradition, here the dame Frosini was imprisoned with seventeen noblewomen of Ioannina, before they were drown in the lake.
The precinct of the church was the site of Souli camping under Notis Botsaris, during the period they fought together with the forces of the Sultan against Ali Pasha, in 1820. Shortly before the liberation of the city in 1912 at the church of St. Nicholas armature was gathered through the Lake. It is said that the weapons were transported by leather merchants, who wrapped them in animal skins. The loft of the church, under the guise of repair of the roof, was changed in real armoury, lined with wood. Remarkable is the carved iconostasis, bearing contemporary icons to the painting of the interior. The archbishopic icon of the Three Hierarchs is the work of the Giannioti painter, Theodosius. From the relics of the church, it deserves a special mention, one silver reliquary which was built in 1784 by the silversmith Nicolas Kalarrytino Pontikis. Today, it serves as a parish and cemetery church of the city of Ioannina.
Evangelical Church
The building of the Evangelical Church, which was built in 1935, is located at Samuel street. The Evangelical Community of Ioannina was officially founded in 1895, although there were Evangelists in Ioannina since at least 1879 when Stavros Michailidis established the first informal community. Today the faithful citizens of the Church in Ioannina amount to a few dozens and constitute a vibrant and amiable group of Ioannina’s society.
Church of Ag. Eleftherios
The Church of Ag. Eleftherios is located within the village and on an inscription it is indicated that the year of construction is 1901.
Agios Athanasios – Metropolitan Church of Ioannina
The metropolitan church of the city, dedicated to Agios Athanasios, is located north of the Litaritsia hill, near the lakeside district, known even today as Siaravas.
Although according to the tradition in this place there was a temple since the Byzantine period, the first sure information about the existence of an earlier temple comes from documents of 1619 and 1664, which is referred to as a monastery catholic. In 1831-32, a few years after the complete destruction of St. Athanasius during the fire of the city by the troops of Hurssit, the new temple was built by Metropolitan Ioakim of Melenikos in the form we know him today. From the 18th century onwards, the architectural type of the three-aisled basilica prevails in the patronage of Epirus and the wider north-Helladic area. Inside, the temple is decorated with frescoes in the three arches of the sanctuary and in the medial niches, the dome and the lower zone of the lateral walls. The wall paintings of the sanctuary were made in 1835 by the painters Theodosius and Konstantinos, as evidenced by an inscription. The iconostasis of St. Athanasius is a typical example of the 19th century continental woodcarving. It is an exceptional art, the work of Anastasios Skalisti and his son Constantine, John and Dimitris, who came from Turonovo (Gorgopotamos) of Konitsa. On the northwest side of the church of St. Athanasius, the imposing tower-shaped bell tower was built in 1909, designed by architect P.Mellirritos.
HOLY AGE OF GEORGE
On the north side of the metropolitan church and in contact with the sanctuary a chapel was built shortly after 1838 to house the tomb of St. George’s new martyr, later patron of Ioannina. The body of the saint was placed next to the entrance of the temple in a grave covered with a rough wooden monument. A few years later, and possibly until 1863, the chapel was built in the form we know today.
Agia Marina and Church of St. John martyr
Agia Marina is located in one of the oldest districts of Ioannina, Kaloutsiani… According to tradition, the church of Agia Marina was first built in 1791, and only in 1809 the first reconstruction of the G.Gorgoli and Stefano Bubi was made. The English traveler Thomas Smart Hughes, who visited the city in 1813 in his travelogue characterises Agia Marina “as the most beautiful and brightest of Ioannina existing churches.” In 1820 the church was burnt down by the sultan’s troops besieging the city of Ioannina and in 1829 it was burned again by Veli Bey.The church of Agia Marina, in the today format, was built in 1852 with money from Epirus benefactor Nicholas Zosima and his brothers, as evidenced by an inscribed marble slab, built above the main entrance door. It is a three-aisled basilica with three polygonal arches to the east and wide vestibule-like narthex to the west. The frescoes of the church are arranged in the standard form since the mid-Byzantine centuries iconography but by stylistic aspect it is obviously remote from the Byzantine tradition, seeking patterns in western works. The idol is carved and gilded. From the relics kept in the church two gospels with elaborate silver bindings, are worth mentioning in particular, which are attributed to foreign laboratory, probably the same. One gospel is dedicated to the temple in 1796, while the other was printed in Venice in 1791. On the west side of the enclosure of Agia Marina the massive stone bell tower rises, which was built after years of trying in 1949 at the expense of the parishioners.