Church Metamorfoseos Soteros Christianon

At the village of Christianoupoli in Filiatra is the impressive, majestic church of the Transfiguration of Christ (Metamorfoseos Soteros), one of the largest Byzantine churches in Greece, which local tradition has compared to Agia Sophia in Constantinople.

It was founded in the 12th century and was the seat of a bishop, since Christianoupoli had become a archdiocese since the end of the 11th century, and remained a metropolis until 1833.

The church operated until 1825 when it was destroyed by the troops of Inrahim. It was partly demolished in 1886 by the strong earthquake that hit the area and remained in ruins. It was restored in the 1940s and more recently in the years 2009-2015.

The building consists of two parts, the church and the bishopricmansion that is attached to its western side and survives only the ground floor. The church belongs to the rare architectural type of complex octagonal church with a narthex, which appears only a few times in Greece.

Its masonry is carefully made and follows the cloisonné system, while at its lower part the big stones, which come from ancient buildings, create crosses.

The walls are decorated with limited ceramic elements and its large surfaces become lighter with the many windows.

On the western wall of the narthex, which was initially the façade of the church, a high gate with a relief marble doorframe.

In the interior the church was rather impressive, since the roof is tall and the light from the windows creates a devout atmosphere. It was decorated by icons which partly survive and its screen, which was initially of marble, wad replaced during the Turkish occupation by a built one. Under its floor, mainly under the narthex, they have discovered approximately fifty tombs.

The church is no longer active but you can visit it after a prior negotiation with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Messinia.