Church of Agioi Apostoloi

At the heart of the old city of Kalamata is one of the most important and famous Byzantine monuments of Messenia, the historic church of Agioi Apostoloi. It has particular importance to the city because it is closely related to its liberation, since it was here that the Revolution was declared in Messenia, on the 23rd of March 1821, and the first doxology took place.

In reality the church consists of two buildings that are connected. Its eastern part, together with the altar area, is the initial church that was built in the beginning of the 12th century. It is small in dimensions and belongs to the type of the free cross, which was not very common in the Peloponnese. It has not narthex and its dome is octagonal, while there are three conches at the exterior of the altar area. During the period of the second Venetian occupation (1685-1715), the western arm   of the cross was demolished and they added the present day main church, and the bell tower. The more recent church is larger, it belongs to the type of the basilica and in addition it has an octagonal dome. This later addition was largely demolished in the earthquake of 1986, but nowadays it has been restored completely in its initial form.

The walls of the Byzantine church are rather carefully constructed, built with the Byzantine cloisonné masonry and are decorated with beautiful ceramic elements, such as dentil courses, meanders and crosses. The older church is built with stones and is characterized by several Venetian architectural elements, like the doors and the small round window. At its interior, the Byzantine small church still has parts of the wall paintings that probably date from the 16th-17th century, while the newer church has no icons.

The church celebrates on the 29th of June, but it is also at the center of a great celebration on the 23rd of March, anniversary of the city’s liberation.