The Church of the “Dormition of the Mother of God”
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The Church of the “Dormition of the Mother of God” was built during the years 1858-1863 at the request of Patriarch Cyril VII. Sultan Abdülmecid I issued an edict (firman) to that effect in 1858. Permission for the construction of a Church within the town of Giannitsa was given during the reform period known as Tanzimat, with the edict of Hatt-i Humayun (1856), through which the Ottoman government tried to reorganize and grant privileges to the non-Muslim citizens of the state.
The residents’ desire for the acquisition of a church was so great that not only they donated the land for its construction, but also offered labor, materials and money. In fact, according to a local tradition, when there was a shortage of water, they mixed wine to make the plaster.
Architecturally, it is a three-aisled basilica with portico. A bell tower inaugurated around 1880 rises over the southwest corner of the roof. The oldest portable icons of the church date to 1846, predating its contraction.
Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports / Archaeological Resourses Fund
