Church Agios Dimitrios

The church of Agios Dimitrios is dedicated to the patron Saint of the city and holds a prominent position among all the churches in this city.

The Church has a rich history.  Originally was built as a small chapel in 313 AD, on the ruins of an ancient Roman bath.
In the fifth century the Bishop Leontius reconstructed the small chapel to a large basilica. This church was burned somewhere between the 626 AD and 634 AD.  When it was constructed again took the form of a five-aisled basilica but in 1493 the Turkish invaders converted it into a mosque!  In 1912 the church returned to the Christians but the great fire in 1917 destroyed it completely.

The church commenced its holly service in 1949.

The church is located on the ruins of the Roman Forum and is a basilica with five naves, a transept and a vestibule.  It has a crypt located directly beneath the transept and the sanctuary. There are catacombs beneath the temple among which is the hall of the prison of St. Demetrius.  The church has a museum and three chapels on one side.  On the southeast side of the church there is the small chapell of Agios Efthimios.

The church Agios Dimitrios before the devastating fires of 1917 was decorated with sculptures, frescoes and mosaics, most of which were destroyed and today only a few remnants can tell the glorious past of the monument.