Agios Ioannis Theologos Ι. Ν. ΑΓΙΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΟΥ (St. John the Theologian) Erotokritou and Erechtheos Sts., Plaka
The church of Agios Ioannis Theologos is located at the picturesque district of Plaka, a great tourist attraction, at the intersection of Erechtheos and Erotokritou streets. The church belongs to the larger local church of Agios Nikolaos Rangavas. Agios Ioannis Theologos celebrates both on May 8th and September 26th.
Agios Ioannis Theologos, Plaka.
The church dates from the end of the 11th c. or the beginning of the 12th c. To this date also testifies a bronze coin of Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118), which was found on its roof. Its good maintenance is due to the restorations that were carried out to the monument in the period 1975-1976.
Architecturally, the church belongs to the type of a two-columned, cross-in-square church with an eight-sided “Athenian” dome. On the east there are three-sided apses and on the west a narthex. It has been constructed with the characteristic, for that period, cloisonné masonry, in which stones are framed by bricks, while it is decorated by ceramic elements. Of particular interest are the preserved parts of the wall paintings which date from the 13th c. and is the product of a local craftsman. At the dome we can see the Pantokrator and at the arch of the altar the Ascension of Christ. At the prosthesis, a saint on a horse is depicted and one can see the heads of Sts. Constantine and Helen. At the narthex there is a depiction of a holy deacon. The church is also worth visiting for the Byzantine-style wall paintings.
Actress Melina Merkouri, posing in front of Agios Ioannis Theologos church in a 1960 photograph.
