The church of Agioi Theodoroi is a relatively simple church, near Klauthmonos Square, at the intersection of commercial Evripidou and Skouleniou streets, in the center of Athens. At the location of the present day church there was another, smaller church, as testified by the inscription that is walled in at the western wall. The same inscription informs us that the new church was erected by the spatharocandidatus (a rank of the Byzantine Court) Nikolaos Kalomalos. A second inscription mentions the church’s foundation date, as 1049 or 1065. The outer wall is decorated with arranged courses of stones and bricks with kufic motifs.
After the liberation from the Turkish occupation, restoration work was carried out at the monument, with the contribution of, among others, King Othon and Queen Amalia. In 1910, and then later in 1967, a series of graves and part of a floor mosaic of the Roman times were found on site.
The church of Sts. Theodores is considered to be one of the finest examples of Byzantine monuments in Athens and in the best preserved shape and most complete form. The monument is characterized by heavy proportions and massive three-sided arches. In general, it has ancient features since it was built on an older church, which must have influenced the present one. Its masonry is cloisonné. The bell-tower was added later and fragments from the marble screen of the church were incorporated into it. The frescoes are recent (20th c.) and they have been painted by Athanasius Kandris. Architecturally it belongs to a rare variation of the cross-in-square church, since the octagonal dome is supported by two columns on the east and on the west by two pillars, which are incorporated at the western wall of the church. On the east there is a tripartite altar with three sided apses. It has been constructed according to the cloisonné masonryand is decorated with various ceramic motifs (plant, kufic etc.).
The church celebrates on the First Saturday of the Great Lent.
Sts. Theodores.
Saint Theodore of Amasea (also known as Theodore Tyron) and Saint Theodore Stratelates are the two saints called Theodore, who are venerated as Warrior Saints and Great Martyrs in the Orthodox Church.