Holy Places

While traveling around Greece you’ll encounter numerous sacred places weighed down by religious Orthodox faith or worship sites dating back to antiquity.

Orthodox monuments are harmoniously integrated in untouched nature and are part of Greece’s cultural heritage. Both on the mainland and on the islands you will come across a large number of Byzantine churches, Christian basilicas, and age-old monasteries promising to travel you back in time.

Libations to the Gods

Spirituality and tradition have a unique way to interact within holy places. Follow Greece’s piety paths and get to see spectacular murals, paintings, temples, bell towers, mosaics, relics and exquisite pieces of Byzantine and post-Byzantine art. The cultural heritage of the past along with tradition give evidence of the consistent relationship between Art and Religion.

• Venerate relics of Saints and Holy Icons in little modest chapels and magnificent Byzantine churches.
• Feel an inner peace by visiting one of the monasteries nestled in forested slopes, hanging on the edge of a steep cliff above the sea, or laying in fertile plains and having a direct link to Greece’s history. Monasteries have implemented religious traditional art in modern days by passing down skills such as iconography, preservation of ancient relics, waxwork and religious embroidery.
• Discover treasures in big Byzantine museums of the Orthodox Religion in Athens, Thessaloniki, Veria, Ioannina, Kastoria and other cities.
• Enjoy the monks’ generous hospitality, their flavourful cuisine in well preserved rooms of each monastery.
• Experience the solemn atmosphere of religious holidays and local Greek fairs which keep age-old tradition alive.

With faith as a guide…

Among the most significant religious centres in Greece are the monastic community of Mount Athos, the astonishing monasteries of Meteora, the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse and Agios Ioannis Theologos Monastery located on Patmos Island, the routes of Apostle Paul, the most venerated Greek religious icon Panayia of Tinos, the icon of Panayia Soumela, the sacred temple of Panayia Ekatontapiliani and Symi’s Panormiti Monastery.

In addition to that, the most celebrated holidays in Greece are Christmas and Easter. Emotive events, year-old customs and traditions create a unique Greek cultural mosaic. Greece is filled with cultural religious events especially in Easter; you mustn’t miss the ones in Corfu, Patmos, Skiathos, Syros, Leonidio, Vrontados on Chios Island and many more.

Nonetheless, the so-called “Summer’s Easter” does not lack in piety acts. Known as the day of Virgin Mary, it is celebrated on the 15th of August and is a popular holiday, widely celebrated throughout Greece.

Furthermore, people in Greece tend to celebrate all saints of the Orthodox religion, but especially the important ones, often patrons of a specific city or village, honoring them with various small or large religious fairs.

Therefore, don’t forget to visit these exceptional places and events, either as a pilgrim or simply as a great explorer and look back in time when once in the past people looked up in the skies seeking the Divine!