Church of St. John the Hunter (Athens, Greece)
The Church of St. John the Hunter (Hunter being another accolade given to St. John the Forerunner) was a very small church in the suburbs of Athens, Greece that is associated with St. Papa-Nicholas (Planas) who served there during first decades of the twentieth century. After the repose of St. Papa Nicholas a new Church of St. John the Hunter has been built.
History
A small domed cruciform church, the Church of St. John the Hunter was built in the twelfth century on the northern slopes of Mount Hymettus near the village of Ayia Paraskevi. An inscription attests to its restoration in the thirteenth century with handsome walls of dressed stone. A narthex and frescos were added in the seventeenth century.
After his ordination as a priest in 1884, Father Nicholas Melissourgos was assigned as the priest of the small Church of St. Panteleimon in Neo Kosmo. However, as a result of a conspiracy between an unassigned priest and the parish council, Fr. Nicholas was deposed from St. Panteleimon and sent to the Church of St. John in Vouliagimeni. Papa Nicholas, as he became affectionally known, served in the ancient church for about fifty years before his repose in February 1932.
After his repose a new, larger Church of St. John the Hunter has been built and the old church preserved.
