The Church of Agios Minas is historic. The first doxology after the integration of Thessaloniki in Greece took place here.
Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )
1978 Suffered serious damages due to earthquake and were repaired.
Ottoman era (1453- 1912)
1852 Rebuilt from the very beginning, after the fire of 1839.
Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)
The original church was of the 5th century AD.
Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)
Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)
Classical era (478-323 BC)
Archaic era (800-479 BC)
Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)
Prehistory (-1100 BC)
What I can see
The city’s market had already developed since the Byzantine years around the church of Agios Minas. Even today, the church is surrounded by shops and the flows of residents and visitors maintain this historical mobility. The church we see today is the reconstructed version of the original one, as it was restored during the years of the Ottoman rule. From the original basilica of the 5th century AD, only the niche of the sanctuary is preserved and some architectural members are exhibited in the Museum of Byzantine Culture. The newer church is a three-aisled basilica with an arch in the middle aisle, an indoor arcade with chapels and elliptical openings on the western and eastern walls, above the entrance and the sanctuary respectively. The interior decoration has neoclassical and baroque-rococo influences from central Europe and had been a refreshing example for other churches that were restored in that period in the broader area. The gilded wood-carved pulpit and the episcopal throne stand out. The marble slabs at the entrance commemorate the destruction and restoration of the church after the fire of 1839 and the earthquake of 1978.
What I can't see
It is a church that has been destroyed many times by fires (1770, 1818, 1839, 1890), looting and bombing. That is why it was called “Burnt Monastery” (Yanik Manastir) in Turkish documents. During the Ottoman era, Christians did not have the right to build new churches, but only to restore older ones, only after special permission and usually through donations from wealthy Christians. The church of Agios Minas was one of the few Christian churches that remained under the control of Christians during that period. This is where the first doxology of Thessaloniki took place, after the city had become Greek territory.
Info
- Address: 10 Ionos Dragoumi St.
- Postal Code : 54624
Bibliography
Zafeiris Ch. (1997), Θεσσαλονίκης Εγκόλπιον, ιστορία, πολιτισμός, η πόλη σήμερα, γεύσεις, μουσεία, μνημεία, διαδρομές, [Thessaloniki Handbook, history, culture, the city today, flavours, museums, routes], Athens: Exantas
Kampouri- Vamvoukou M., (1997), Μεταβυζαντινή αρχιτεκτονική, [Post- Byzantine architecture], in Liontis K., (1997) (ed), Αρχιτεκτονική της Θεσσαλονίκης, [Architecture in Thessaloniki] in Epta Imeres, Kathimerini, p. 6-8
Tsaktsira L, Papanthimou K., Mantziou G., Kalogirou N., (2014), Θεσσαλονίκη, η πόλη και τα μνημεία της, [Thessaloniki, the city and its monuments], Thessaloniki: Malliaris Pedia