The city of
Eleftheropoulis has two parishes, the parish of Agios Nikolaos and the parish
of Agios Eleftherios. On this occasion we are going to talk about the Agios
Nikolaos, which is a historic temple.
Agios
Nikolaos has a long history, and that is that the revelation of a
Paleo-Christian basilica, under the post-Byzantine church of Agios Nikolaos,
showed the existence of a Roman settlement in the period of the
Paleo-Christian. As well as the tombstone of a Hellenistic tomb of the II
century BC with abundant gifts and ceramics confirmed the existence of a
previous settlement.
The road
connecting the villages in the area was abandoned at the beginning of the 2nd
century BC, to be reused again by the Romans, who connected Philippi with
Amphipolis. This city was an important crossroads, and hence the prosperity of
the area. This made it for many centuries a central axis that benefited from
the ideas and people who traveled along these roads. It was in this
Paleo-Christian period (6th century BC) when the Sanctuary of Agios Nikolaos
was built, of which architectural parts are still preserved to this day.
It is
unknown when that temple is destroyed, but from the first Christians until 1759
there is no other temple in the foundation. It is through this conservation
that it is known that it was dedicated to Agios Minas, therefore at present in
the church is celebrated Agios Minas and Agios NIkolaos. In 1759 the
construction of the Agios Nikolaos Church began, as shown by the inscription on
the church. In the years before construction, there was a significant increase
in the Christian population in the area, which brought with it a beginning of
economic development and commercial movement.
Until 1912,
the Agios Nikolaos Church was used as the city's cemetery, however, with the
increasing population of some of the refugees from Eastern Thrace, and the fact
that they settled near the Agios Nikolaos Church, this area became central and
moved the cemetery elsewhere.
The Agios
Nikolaos church is built in the middle of a circular square. In 1915 a 3. 5
metre high wall was built to protect the inner courtyard, which does not exist
today. The Thracian refugees also built an 11-meter bell tower, but it doesn't
exist today either.
One of the
dark episodes of this church is the disappearance of old relics that were
inside the church by the Bulgarian conquerors in 1917. Among the objects taken
from the church, it is found:
- Three big
Byzantine icons and six post-Byzantine icons
- A
golden-haired priestly bag,
- A cross
embellished with gold and precious stones.
- A gold
inserter
- Three
gold pearls,
- 3 golden
emblems,
- 2
syllables, of which one silk
- An
ancient embroidered carpet of the Holy Trinity,
- 2
Gospels, one golden and old, and the other silver
- 24 books
a month, two deceitful, two Pentecostals, two triplets, three wishes, three
clocks, three typical, three functional, two psalteries (all those who know
what age)
- 3 gold
caps
- A silver
incense burner
- A silver
cross,
- 2 ancient
statues (described exactly by Father Nicholas)
- A carved
cabin, made of cypress and walnut wood, apparently a reliquary
- An
11th-century carved wooden cross
With the
increasing population of refugees from Tracia and Mikra, the church of Agios
Nikolaos was small for the number of Christians. So in 1926, another church was
built Agios Metropolis Eleftheropoulis.
In 1961
there was a predisposition to demolish the archaeological temple and build a
larger church, however, since the ministry the construction was declared
historical monument, and was not demolished. Although on December 31, 1971, the
church was almost completely destroyed by it was. Many saw the opportunity to
build a new church, however, it was decided to restore the temple.
The fire of
1971 completely destroyed all the wood, and with it the thrones and pulpits of
incalculable value, 54 images from the 18th and 19th centuries and the wooden
columns. A resident was able to save the icon of Agios Minas of the eighteenth
century, which is still in the church today. During the restoration of the
church, and with the removal of paintings burned by fire, a series of
Paleo-Christian architectural fragments and Roman inscriptions on arches and
various parts of the temple were revealed. Later excavations showed finds such
as the Roman settlement at Eleftheropoulis. After the restoration, the
Paleo-Christian architectural details were highlighted, and it was decorated
with Byzantine icons.
Today, both parishioners and visitors come to this church to see this historic building.
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