The St. Paraskeva Church (Greek: Ιερός Ναός Αγίας Παρασκευής) is a Greek Orthodox church in the town of Giannitsa, in northern Greece, dedicated to Saint Paraskeva of the Balkans, and belonging to the archdiocese of Edessa, Pella and Almopia.[1][2][3] It was originally an Ottoman mosque that was converted into a church following the incorporation of Giannitsa and the rest of Greek Macedonia into Greece in the early twentienth century.
| St. Paraskeva Church | |
|---|---|
Ιερός Ναός Αγίας Παρασκευής | |
 | |
  St. Paraskeva Church | |
| 40°47′08.3″N 22°24′51.4″E / 40.785639°N 22.414278°E | |
| Location | Giannitsa |
| Country | Greece |
| Language(s) | Greek |
| Denomination | Greek Orthodox |
| History | |
| Status | Open |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Ottoman |
| Completed | 15th century |
| Specifications | |
| Number of domes | 1 |
| Number of spires | 1 |
| Administration | |
| Metropolis | Metropolis of Edessa, Pella and Almopia |
History
editThe building was originally built as a Muslim mosque built in the fifteenth century, probably by one of the descendants of Gazi Evrenos, the founder of Giannitsa,[4] and described by Ottoman traveller and explorer Evliya Çelebi as a mosque made of large stones. Its name during the years it functioned as a mosque was Yakup Bey Mosque (in Turkish: Yakup Bey Camii).[5] The older complex included a tekke as well.[6]
In 1947-1948, Archimandrite Nicander Papaioannou, the owner of the plot and the building, turned the mosque into a church.[7][8] In 1951, he donated the church and the entire plot to the Metropolitanate of Edessa and Pella. The church then functioned as a monastery for about forty years with the appropriate utility rooms and lodgings. Ever since October 1995, the church has served as a parish church, with a cemetery built next to it.[8]
Eventually a larger church was built next to this one.
The church was declared a historical monument on June 13 1990.[7]
Architecture
editThe original building is the posterior part of today's church – an octagonal building, typical of the fifteenth century mausoleums, with a 3.5 m long wall and a 7 m. tall dome. Later when it served as a monastery, several architectural changes were made such as a bell tower being added to it on the site of the destroyed minaret,[2] though with the exception of the addition of the bell tower and the sanctuary, no extreme changes took place.[6]
Inner decoration of the church is the work of the painters Karlas, Viron and Avramidis.[1][2] The icons in there are the work of monks from the Holy Spirit Monastery in Oropos.[3]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b "Ιερός ναός Αγίας Παρασκευής" (in Greek). Η πόλη μας. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ a b c "Γιαννιτσά - η πρωτεύουσα του κάμπου" (in Greek). Τσακήλι. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ a b Αποστολίδου, Γεσθημανή. "Τα Γιαννιτσά ... χθες και σήμερα". p. 42. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ Ameen 2017, p. 15.
- ^ Cangül, Caner (July 25, 2023). "Yakup Bey Camii, Yenice-i Vardar" [Yakup Bey Mosque, Giannitsa]. kulturenvanteri.com/tr/yer/ (in Turkish). Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ a b Stavridopoulos 2015, p. 192.
- ^ a b "ΥΑ ΥΠΠΟ/ΑΡΧ/Β1/Φ36/9835/222/25-4-1990 - ΦΕΚ 355/Β/13-6-1990" (in Greek). Διαρκής κατάλογος κηρυγμένων αρχαιολογικών τόπων και μνημείων. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ a b Πασχούδη, Μαρία Χρ (2010). Από τις Καρυές Ανατολικής Ρωμυλίας στα Γιαννιτσά (Ιστορία – Πνευματικός βίος). Διπλωματική εργασία (PDF). Θεσσαλονίκη: Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης. Θεολογική Σχολή, Τμήμα Ποιμαντικής και Κοινωνικής Θεολογίας. p. 75.
Bibliography
edit- Ameen, Ahmed (2017). Islamic architecture in Greece: Mosques. Alexandria: Center for Islamic Civilization studies, Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
- Stavridopoulos, Ioannis (2015). Μνημεία του άλλου: η διαχείριση της οθωμανικής πολιτιστική κληρονομιάς της Μακεδονίας από το 1912 έως σήμερα [Other People's Monuments: the Management of the Ottoman Cultural Heritage of Macedonia from 1912 to the present] (Thesis) (in Greek). Ioannina: University of Ioannina.