Church of Metamorfoseos tou Sotiros Christianoupoleos: A Byzantine Metropolitan Church in Greece
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.9
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Greece
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Byzantine
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page7 sections
History
Foundation as a metropolitan church
The Church of Metamorfoseos tou Sotiros Christianoupoleos is a Byzantine church in Greece, erected toward the end of the 11th century at Christianoupoli in the Peloponnese. Its construction followed the elevation of the formerly simple Bishopric of Christianoupolis to a metropolitan see. The church now belongs to the Metropolis of Trifylia and Olympia.
Finds from Christianoupoli and its surroundings have raised the possibility that the church was built on or near the remains of an ancient temple dedicated to Zeus Soter. This proposed connection remains conjectural. The church is regarded as one of the most important Byzantine churches in the Morea, the historical name for the Peloponnese. A popular saying compared it with Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the major domed church built under the Byzantine emperor Justinian I: “Saint Soter in the Morea and Hagia Sophia in the City.” The saying appears to refer to the two buildings’ perceived construction and size.
Damage and restoration
The church continued to function until 1825. It was then damaged during the campaign in the Peloponnese led by Ibrahim Pasha, an Egyptian military commander. In 1886, an earthquake affecting the Trifylia region caused the dome and the southern side of the church to collapse.
The building was declared a protected monument in 1921. The Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs decided to restore it in 1938, but the work was suspended when the Second World War began. Restoration resumed between 1948 and 1950 and continued in later phases, reaching completion in 2014.
Remains
Plan and construction
Central dome and lateral spaces
The church stands at the western foothills of Mount Aigaleo, in the village of Christianoupoli within the Municipality of Trifylia in Messenia. It follows the composite octagonal church type, a Byzantine arrangement organized around an octagonal structure that supports a central dome through piers, arches, and subsidiary spaces. A narthex, or entrance vestibule, adjoins the main body of the church. Two-storey lateral spaces extend to the north and south of the central dome.
Windows and masonry
Numerous large windows of varied forms punctuate the building. Its walls use carefully executed cloisonné masonry, a technique in which stone blocks are framed and articulated with bricks, often arranged in horizontal courses or bands.
Nearby sites
