Churches of Greece

It really is no surprise that I loved Greece as much as I did. I love old buildings, especially old churches, and Greece is chock full of them. Old Byzantine churches to be exact. Most of the tiny, gorgeous, picture-perfect churches on the islands are no longer in use, but community members maintain them well-kept. I didn’t actually encounter any religious locals on my trip; instead, the driver I had in Athens mentioned the frustration with the Greek Orthodox Church and the way they spend their money. Churches would be adorned with gold, but weren’t helpful to their local communities. I think it was nice to see that on the islands, while they were no longer in use, locals still cared for their churches and chapels. They are a big part of each island’s history and community, meant to be preserved.

On the islands I visited, there were churches everywhere: on hills with no residents, in the middle of the town square, nestled into a neighborhood surrounded by restaurants. Most of them are known for their blue, dome-shaped roofs and white walls, a staple of Greece if I’ve ever seen one. So, here I’m sharing several of the churches with you. Not all of course, that would be a ridiculously long post. I stopped to pray at some of them, but most were simply pretty pauses in a hike or walk around town.