The church of St. Irene on Nikodimou Street in Plaka is also known as the Rinaki (little Irene) of Plaka due to the church’s diminutive size. Only six metres by six metres, the church is actually just one part of an older three-aisle basilica from the early Christian era.
The church now stands in the yard of the Youth Office of the Archdiocese of Athens. Its interior showcases well-preserved carvings from the 7th century, as well as frescoes from the 12th and 13th centuries. Roman baths once occupied this same site, and according to tradition, Basil the Great, Gregorios from Nazianzos, and Julian the Apostat bathed here when they were students in Athens. Later, the area featured Ottoman baths.
Demetrios Kabouroglou jokes about how students from the adjacent Girls’ High School sought refuge in the yard of the little church whenever they had difficulty in their examinations.
More Churches & Monasteries
Agios Georgios Karytsis
AthensOwned by the Athenian Kariki family since the Middle Ages, Agios Georgios Karytsis was nearly destroyed during the Revolution of 1821....
Panagia Grigoroussa
AthensBuilt sometime in the 11th or 12th century, the original structure of this church was almost entirely destroyed during the Revolution of 1821....
The St. Dionysius Metropolitan Church
Kythera & AntikytheraThe St. Dionysius Metropolitan Church was constructed in the early 19th century with funding from the Holy Monastery of Chryssoleontissa....
Pantanassa
AthensLocated on Monastiraki Square, the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, or Pantanassa, was once called the Great Monastery, and today is known commonly as Monastiraki....
Dafni Monastery
Chaidari, West SuburbsThe Dafni Monastery is rumoured to have been built at the site of the ancient temple of Apollo Dafnaios....
Alimos Basilica
Alimos, South SuburbsThis sixth-century Christian basilica sits inside the grounds of the Zoodochos Pigi church....