Church of Saint Gregory Palamas
The Metropolitan Church of Saint Gregory Palamas is a Greek Orthodox church in central Thessaloniki, Greece. It is dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas and stands at the intersection of Metropolis and Hagia Sophia streets.
The site has a long religious history. In the late 13th to early 14th centuries, Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos built a three-aisled church there, originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After the Ottoman conquest, the Cathedral of St. Demetrius on the same site was converted into a mosque in 1491, and the local church briefly served as the city’s cathedral. It was renovated in 1699.
In 1890 a large fire destroyed the church. A plan was approved to build a new church of St. Demetrius with two side chapels, one for Gregory Palamas and one for St. Nicholas. The project received a significant donation from Andreas Syngros, and architect Ernst Ziller was chosen. Groundbreaking took place on 16 June 1891. Construction faced delays due to soil instability, contractor disputes, and wars. Work resumed in 1902 and was completed under Xenophon Paionidis, with the church finally finished in 1909 at a cost of about 302,229 gold lira. The church was inaugurated on 21 April 1914 and dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas.
Architecturally, the church is a neo-Byzantine eclectic building with an octagonal plan, a large central dome, and four bell towers. The interior was painted by Nikolaos Kessanlis. The relics of Saint Gregory Palamas are housed there.
The 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake damaged the church, but it was repaired and reopened in 1980. The church is part of the Metropolis of Thessaloniki in the Church of Greece.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:08 (CET).