Metropolitan Church of Saint Athanasios in Mytilene

The Metropolitan Church of Saint Athanasios dominates Mytilene’s historic center and dates to the late 16th–early 17th century. It was declared metropolitan in 1721, under Metropolitan Nikodimos Ainazis, and is a three-aisled domed basilica. Inside, the wall paintings by Lesvian painter Vasileios Kesaklis (1901) stand out, as do the wood-carved iconostasis, Holy Table and bishop’s throne—works of 1738 of Lesvian post-Byzantine woodcarving. Significant relics include a 16th-century icon of Jesus Christ, portable icons and church vessels, and the silver casket with the incorrupt relic of Saint Theodoros of Byzantium, patron saint of Mytilene. In the sanctuary there is a crypt where Mytilene’s hierarchs were buried from 1707 to 1783. The striking 33 m bell tower, built in 1882 with stones from the Sarmosak quarry in Asia Minor, is a characteristic example of the neo-Gothic style.