The island of Syros used to be mostly Catholic, a result of the Venetian expansion in the Aegean. During the Greek War of Independence (1821-1828), it was granted the protection of the Vatican and served as the landing point of refugees from Chios, Psara and Crete. The refugees founded the city of Ermoupolis, now the […]
A Modern Saint on Kimolos
Unlike the Catholic church where saints are created at breakfast, lunch and supper, the Orthodox church doesn’t mess up its throngs with just anyone. I mean, if John Paul II had his way, the whole population of Poland would be beatified (with General Jaruzelski the patron saint of dictators). No, the Orthodox church even used […]
Churches you shouldn’t miss in Thessaloniki
Many forget that for centuries, while Athens had been reduced to a small hamlet under the Akropolis, Salonika was the biggest and most important city in the Byzantine (and later Ottoman) Empire after Constantinople/Istanbul. There is a continuity in the city’s history, which one can not find in Athens, whose sights flip-flop between ancient and […]