Cathedral of Saint Spyridon
Saint Spyridon Church
Greece, Corfu
The Cathedral of St. Spyridon is an Orthodox church on the island of Corfu, located in the center of the city of Kerkyra. Named in honor of St. Spyridon Trimifuntsky, who is considered the patron saint of the island, and is the location of his relics.
The cathedral was originally located not in its current location, but in the Sarocco region, but due to the construction of the city walls, it had to be moved. The current building of the cathedral was built in 1590. The cathedral was built in the typical style of the Ionian Islands and is not like other churches in Greece.
The relics of St. Spyridon ended up on Corfu in 1489. It is not known exactly when the saint was so closely connected with the fate of the island that he became the patron saint of Kerkyra. In any case, the tradition that the saint saved the island from famine dates back to before 1553.
The ancient church of St. Spyridon was considered the richest in the East; not only Orthodox Christians, but also Catholics donated to the temple. Numerous contributions were made by the Russian imperial house, in particular, by Empress Catherine II and Emperor Paul I. In the temple, the visitor is amazed by huge gold and silver chandeliers, a marble iconostasis, an unusual-looking icon in gold frames on the vault. Throughout the cathedral and above the shrine with the relics of St. Spyridon, a large number of metal figures hang on chains: ships, cars, individual parts of the body - signs of gratitude from parishioners and pilgrims who received help from the saint.