The Church of Aghios Therapon at Mytilini

The Church of Aghios Therapon is one of the most recognizable sites of Lesvos since its imposing mass dominates Mytilini town center. The building of the present church started in 1850 on the site of an older chapel, which was frequented mainly by the patients and the staff of the Xenodocheio Hospital operating right across the present church. Today it houses the Church History-Byzantine Museum. At that time Mytilini Metropolitan Kallinikos played a crucial role in collecting donations for the construction of the church. This church belongs to the domed cross-in-circle type, designed by architect Argyris Adalis. The church exterior is notable for its gothic elements, while the exterior ornamentation is the work of famous Lesvian artist Nikolaos Kessanlis. The façade has two superposed colonnades, in both Ionic and Corinthian ordrers. Five domes top the entire structure. The central dome is clad with tin sheets. Each dome is supported on pediments, decorated with paintings and sculptures. The interior is of exceptional interest with its wooden altarpiece hand-carved by artisan Dimitrios Kovalas. The same artist carved by hand the bishop’s throne, the pulpit and the two major proskynesis booths. The resting place of Lesvian Metropolitan Ignatios of Hungary and Wallachia is in the church, a famous hero of the 1821 Greek War of Independence. The icon of Aghios Therapon dating to 1651 is a much-venerated relic of the church and the entire island.