Panagia Ekatontapiliani, Parikia, Paros, Greece
Built in 326 AD and expanded to something approximating its present size primarily in the 500s AD, with further additions over the subsequent millennium, this historic Byzantine-style Basilica is known as Panagia Ekatontapiliani, Panagia Katapoliani, or the Holy Shrine of the Virgin Mary Ekatontapyliani. The church is one of the best preserved Roman-era basilicas, having served as a church for most of its history. The church’s name means “The Church With 100 Gates,” though this is believed by experts to be a corruption of a term meaning “Lower Town Church,” which sounds similar, and could easily have been unintentionally altered after more than a millennium of existence. The cathedral consists of a main church structure, which dates back to 326AD, which is attached to a baptistery, which stands to the south. To the west and northwest of the church is a two-story U-shaped structure, which houses living quarters, offices, and a museum, as well as a pair of campaniles atop the roof flanking the main entrance portal. The main church is cruciform in shape, with marble walls, a red terra cotta tile roof, roman arched bays, a front portico with arched openings, an octagonal lantern below a dome, a semi-circular apse, and two smaller chapels that stand to the northeast of the church. To the south is a smaller baptistery, with a similar exterior treatment to the main church, with a marble exterior and red terra cotta tile roof, as well as an octagonal drum and dome, with the baptistery being lower in height than the main church. Inside, the church features remnants of the original Byzantine mosaic floor and murals, with over a millennium of earthquakes, interior alterations, and weathering having destroyed most of the original decorations, leaving behind stone walls, vaulted stone ceilings, stone floors, and stone columns. The U-shaped structure to the east and northeast, which is much newer, is clad in limewashed stucco, with marble trim, doric pilasters, wrought iron gates, and a one-story arcade around the perimeter of the courtyard with arches supported on cylindrical stone columns. The rest of the churchyard is enclosed by a high limewashed wall with a gate to the north of the church, with the courtyard being home to ancient stone monuments and relics from the church’s long history. The church underwent a major restoration between 1959 and 1966, which removed the stucco cladding from the oldest portions of the church complex, and revealed the remaining Byzantine-era decorative elements. Today, the church remains in use as a Greek Orthodox Cathedral, and is a major historical site on the island of Paros, being one of the oldest purpose-built churches still in use in the world.
Panagia Ekatontapiliani, Parikia, Paros, Greece
Built in 326 AD and expanded to something approximating its present size primarily in the 500s AD, with further additions over the subsequent millennium, this historic Byzantine-style Basilica is known as Panagia Ekatontapiliani, Panagia Katapoliani, or the Holy Shrine of the Virgin Mary Ekatontapyliani. The church is one of the best preserved Roman-era basilicas, having served as a church for most of its history. The church’s name means “The Church With 100 Gates,” though this is believed by experts to be a corruption of a term meaning “Lower Town Church,” which sounds similar, and could easily have been unintentionally altered after more than a millennium of existence. The cathedral consists of a main church structure, which dates back to 326AD, which is attached to a baptistery, which stands to the south. To the west and northwest of the church is a two-story U-shaped structure, which houses living quarters, offices, and a museum, as well as a pair of campaniles atop the roof flanking the main entrance portal. The main church is cruciform in shape, with marble walls, a red terra cotta tile roof, roman arched bays, a front portico with arched openings, an octagonal lantern below a dome, a semi-circular apse, and two smaller chapels that stand to the northeast of the church. To the south is a smaller baptistery, with a similar exterior treatment to the main church, with a marble exterior and red terra cotta tile roof, as well as an octagonal drum and dome, with the baptistery being lower in height than the main church. Inside, the church features remnants of the original Byzantine mosaic floor and murals, with over a millennium of earthquakes, interior alterations, and weathering having destroyed most of the original decorations, leaving behind stone walls, vaulted stone ceilings, stone floors, and stone columns. The U-shaped structure to the east and northeast, which is much newer, is clad in limewashed stucco, with marble trim, doric pilasters, wrought iron gates, and a one-story arcade around the perimeter of the courtyard with arches supported on cylindrical stone columns. The rest of the churchyard is enclosed by a high limewashed wall with a gate to the north of the church, with the courtyard being home to ancient stone monuments and relics from the church’s long history. The church underwent a major restoration between 1959 and 1966, which removed the stucco cladding from the oldest portions of the church complex, and revealed the remaining Byzantine-era decorative elements. Today, the church remains in use as a Greek Orthodox Cathedral, and is a major historical site on the island of Paros, being one of the oldest purpose-built churches still in use in the world.