Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, Athens

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens is a Greek Orthodox cathedral serving as the cathedral church for the Archbishopric of Athens and all of Greece. Construction began on Christmas Day, 1842, with the cornerstone laid by King Otto and Queen Amalia. Marble from 72 demolished churches went into its massive walls.

The work began under Theophil Hansen and continued with Dimitrios Zezos, Panagis Kalkos and François Boulanger. Completed in 1862, the cathedral was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Mother of God. Inside, tombs hold Saint Philothei and Patriarch Gregory V, both killed during the Ottoman period.

Saint Philothei’s bones remain visible in a silver reliquary. The cathedral’s broad, solemn interior gives these stories a powerful setting, linking religious devotion with the history of modern Greece.