Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Church of the Holy Apostles

The Church of the Holy Apostles ( Ιερός Ναός των Αγίων Αποστόλων ) is a small Byzantine church, probably dating back to the 12th century. During the years of the second Venetian occupation (1685-1715), a basilica dome was added to the west of the central building, in order to give more space to the church, as well as a bell tower at its northeast side. The church is decorated with frescoes which probably date from the 17th century and are preserved in a (poor) state. ( Doors were closed, so I could not visit the interor of the chuch .) The church suffered extended damages due to a strong earthquake in 1986. Since then a series of restoration projects were conducted in order to restore the temple. The small Church of the Holy Apostles - located in the historic center of Kalamata - is one of the most significant monuments in the history of the modern Greek state. It made history the morning of 23rd of March 1821. Kalamata has just got liberated from the Ottomans and after the final victory, the local population assembled in front of the church. There was held the first Greek Orthodox mass on free Greek territory in over 360 years. The Greeks then made a formal declaration of independence in front of the church and then took an oath of loyalty to the revolution. The Greeks continued with their efforts and eventually achieved full victory and independence in 1832.

The Church of the Holy Apostles is located just outside the small village of Molyvdoskepastos - known as Depalitsa until 1929. According to the text of the founding inscription, it was built in 1537 and the hagiographies were added in 1645. The church belongs to the cross inscribed architectural type, with a twelve-side dome, a narthes to the west and a later portico to the south. The interior shows remarkable frescoes. The church used to be the seat of the Archbishop of Pogoniani until 1857. Next to the church is a viewpoint, from where there is a fine view of the area of the Greek-Albanian border and of the confluence of the rivers Aoos and Sarandaporos, the waters of the two rivers then cross the Albanian lands and flow into the Adriatic sea (PiP3).