Thessaloniki Church of Kyrillos and Methodios

Location: Beach Promenade

The Church of Agios Kyrillos and Agios Methodios (Saints Cyril and Methodius) is located on the Waterfront of Thessaloniki. It is a stunning church with architecture mainly referring to the Russian style, a golden dome, and colorful glass windows. The church was founded by Metropolitan Panteleimon Chrissofakis of Thessaloniki in 1981 and inaugurated in 1983, in the presence of the then-President of the Hellenic Republic, Christos Sartzetakis. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew also paid a visit to the church in 1997.

Apart from its patron saints, the church honors the Virgin Mary Portraitissa. In fact, a copy of the imposing icon from the Monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos has been hosted in the church since 1988. Additionally, the holy martyrs Cyprian and Justina, Saint Gregory Kallidis, and the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius (called Agioi Eptarythmi in Greek) are commemorated as well.

The story of Cyril and Methodius

Saints Cyril and Methodius are inextricably linked to the creation of the Slavic alphabet and the genesis of written Slavic culture.
The saints came from a prominent family in Thessaloniki. Cyril studied several subjects at the University of Magnaura and taught Theology, Philosophy and Philology, while Methodios was a governor of Thessaly and a deacon.
In 862 AD, Prince Rastislav of Moravia asked Byzantine Emperor Michael III and Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople to send missionaries to preach Christianity to the Slavic population of his empire.
Eventually, Cyril and Methodius were selected for that mission and were sent to Moravia. In addition to spreading Christianity, the two men are known for creating the oldest Slavic alphabets, Glagolitic and Cyrillic. Cyril and Methodius, with the help of some of their students, created them in order to translate the Bible and other texts into Slavic languages.
For this reason, Cyril and Methodius are celebrated in many Slavic countries to this day as national saints, including Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.