page_title: Patras
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Patras / Culture / Religion
caption_attribution_description: Ελληνικά: Ιερός ναός Αγίου Ανδρέα«Ιερός ναός Αγίου Ανδρέα» This is a photo of a monument in Greece identified by the ID GR-G13-0007
context_page_description: Patras is Greece's third-largest city and the regional capital of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, 215 km west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras.
  As of the 2011 census, the city of Patras has a population of 167,446 and the municipal unit has 170,896 inhabitants; the municipality has 213,984 inhabitants. The population of its functional urban area was 217,555 in 2011. The core settlement has a history spanning four millennia. In the Roman period, it had become a cosmopolitan center of the eastern Mediterranean whilst, according to the Christian tradition, it was also the place of Saint Andrew's martyrdom.
  Dubbed as Greece's 'Gate to the West', Patras is a commercial hub, while its busy port is a nodal point for trade and communication with Italy and the rest of Western Europe. The city has two public universities and one technological institute, hosting a large student population and rendering Patras an important scientific centre with a field of excellence in technological education.
context_section_description: The city is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Patras. As in the rest of the country, the largest denomination is the Orthodox Church, which represents the majority of the population. There is also a sizeable living community of Roman Catholics.
  The most significant church in the city is the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, in the south west of the city center.The construction of the church began in 1908 under the supervision of the architect Anastasios Metaxas, followed by Georgios Nomikos. It was inaugurated in 1974. It is the largest church in Greece and the third-largest Byzantine-style church in the Balkans, after the Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. It holds relics of Andrew the Apostle, which were returned to the city of Patras from St. Peter's Basilica, Rome in September, 1964, on the orders of Pope Paul VI.
  Other historical churches of the city are: 
  The church of Pantokrator (1832), the old cathedral, in the upper town district
  The Metropolitan Church of Patras (1846) dedicated to Panayia Evangelistria, on Maisonos Street
  The church of Ayios Nikolaos (1885), next to the steps of Ayiou Nikolaou street
  The church of Pantanassa (1859), Ipsilanti street
  The church of Ayios Dimitrios, in the upper town district
  The Catholic Church of Saint Andrew (1937), on Maisonos Street
  The Anglican church of Saint Andrew (1878), on Karolou Street
  The old church of Ayios Andreas (1836–1843), next to the new temple. Situated in the site of Andrew the Apostle's martyrdom, it was built in basilica style by the architect Lysandros Kaftanzoglou.
  Girokomiou Monastery (Holy Monastery of Panagia Girokomitissa): This historic monastery was founded in the 10th century AD in the eastern part of Patras. It was built on the ruins of an ancient temple of the goddess Artemis and for this reason the monastery's cathedral is dedicated to Saint Artemiοs. It is obvious that the monastery maintained a nursing home during the Byzantine period.
  Monastery of Agios Nikolaos Bala (Paleomonastiro): Ιt is built at the foot of Panachaikos, at an altitude of 500 meters, near the village of Bala, 8 km northeast of Patras. This historic and picturesque monastery was founded at the end of the 17th century. A marble slab on the north outer side of the Cathedral tells of the restoration of the monastery in 1693. The monastery has aldo recently been renovated, numbering nineteen nuns and celebrating 6 December and 10 May.
caption: The old Orthodox church of Saint Andrew, next to the Cathedral
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