The church is a three-aisle basilica in the neo-Renaissance style. The German architect Leo von Klenze drafted the plans for the cathedral at the behest of King Otto of Greece. The architecture is influenced by St Boniface's Abbey in Munich. During the project, the plans were modified by the Greek architect Lysandros Kaftanzoglou, who offered to direct the work of the church, until completion, without any remuneration. The land for the construction of the church was purchased in 1847 with money collected among the Roman Catholics of Greece, while the building was built by fundraisers among Catholics both inside and outside the country. The nave was built in 1853 and the inauguration took place on 4 August 1865.
The church is 38 metres long, 15 metres high and 24 metres wide. The church's interior is decorated with beautiful frescoes. Of the most beautiful is the fresco of semi-domes of triumphal arch, representing the Apotheosis of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite (1890) and is the work of Italian painter from Rimini Guglielmo Bilancioni (1836–1907). The pillars, which support the triumphal arch, represent in life-size the four Evangelists. In front of the triumphal arch is depicted Christ Pantocrator with the Gospel in hand. In the adjacent corner on the right is Moses holding a parchment, and on the left the Prophet David playing a harp. Below are Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Augustine. The church floor is paved with Pentelic marble. The nave is supported by 12 columns of 5 metres of green marble from Tinos. The platform of dance above the main entrance of the temple, which is also the Pipe organ, was built in 1888 by architect Paul Sambi (Paul Chambaut). Right and left of the main entrance are two inscriptions, one in Latin, the other in modern Greek, commemorating the Athenian visit of pope John Paul II in 2001. Finally, right and left of the sanctuary are two marble pulpits, donated by Franz Joseph I of Austria when he visited Athens in 1869.
The eight stained glass windows on both sides of the lower part of the church were painted by the director of the royal workshops of Munich Carl de Boucher (Karl de Bouchet) and donated by King Ludwig of Bavaria.
Cathedrals, collegiate churches, and monastic churches like those of abbeys and priories, often have certain complex structural forms that are found less often in parish churches. They also tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of regional pride. Many are among the world's most renowned works of architecture. These include St Peter's Basilica, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cologne Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Antwerp Cathedral, Prague Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of San Vitale, St Mark's Basilica, Westminster Abbey, Saint Basil's Cathedral, Antoni Gaudí's incomplete Sagrada Família and the ancient cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, now a mosque.
The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the Lateran, Saint Peter's, and Saint Mary Major, as well as one of the city’s Seven Pilgrim Churches. The basilica is the conventual church of the adjacent Benedictine abbey and is served by the monks of the community.
Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church.
Denis of France was a 3rd-century Christian martyr and saint. According to his hagiographies, he was bishop of Paris in the third century and, together with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, was martyred for his faith by decapitation. Some accounts placed this during Domitian's persecution and incorrectly identified StDenis of Paris with the Areopagite who was converted by Paul the Apostle and who served as the first bishop of Athens. Assuming Denis's historicity, it is now considered more likely that he suffered under the persecution of the emperor Decius shortly after AD250.
Dionysius the Areopagite was an Athenian judge at the Areopagus Court in Athens, who lived in the first century. A convert to Christianity, he is venerated as a saint by multiple denominations.
The Sacred Heart Cathedral is a Catholic church in Sarajevo; commonly referred as the Sarajevo Cathedral, it is the largest cathedral in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, currently Tomo Vukšić, and center of Catholic worship in the city. The cathedral is located in the city's Old Town district.
The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a Catholic religious order. Officially named Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù, its façade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture. The church served as a model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the central Europe and then in the Portuguese colonies. Its paintings in the nave, crossing, and side chapels became models for Jesuit churches throughout Italy and Europe, as well as those of other orders. The Church of the Gesù is located in the Piazza del Gesù in Rome and is one of the great 17th century preaching churches built by Counter-Reformation orders in the Centro Storico.
St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, Canada, and one of the oldest churches in Toronto. It is located at 65 Bond Street in Toronto's Garden District. St. Michael's was designed by William Thomas, designer of eight other churches in the city, and was primarily financed by Irish immigrants who resided in the area. The cathedral has a capacity of 1600. John Cochrane and Brothers undertook the work on the stone and stucco ornamentation of the interior.
The Basilica of Saint Mary is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located on its own city block along Hennepin Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the first basilica established in the United States. The Basilica of Saint Mary is the co-cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is a cathedral serving Roman Catholics in the U.S. city of Mobile, Alabama. It is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. The cathedral is named for Mary, mother of Jesus, under her title, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the Church Street East Historic District and Lower Dauphin Street Historic District and is listed on the Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission
San Thome Church, officially known as St Thomas Cathedral Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Thomas, is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in India, at the Santhome neighbourhood of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu. The present structure dates back to 1523 AD, when it was built by the Portuguese over the tomb of Thomas the Apostle. In 1896, it was renovated in the Madras province according to neo-Gothic designs, as was favoured by British architects in the late 19th century.
The Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic church in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The cathedral was consecrated on December 19, 1933. It is the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Hamilton, and the cathedral of the Diocese of Hamilton. The cathedral contains the cathedra of the bishop, the Most Rev. Douglas Crosby. The cathedral was raised to the status of a minor basilica in February 2013 by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Basilica of Saint Clotilde is a basilica church located on the Rue Las Cases, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It was constructed between 1846 and 1856, and is the first example of a church in Paris in the neo-Gothic style.
Prato Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Stephen, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prato, Tuscany, Central Italy, from 1954 the seat of the Bishop of Prato, having been previously, from 1653, a cathedral in the Diocese of Pistoia and Prato. It is dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
The Basilica di San Zeno is a minor basilica of Verona, northern Italy constructed between 967 and 1398 AD. Its fame rests partly on its Romanesque architecture and partly upon the tradition that its crypt was the place of the marriage of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It stands adjacent to a Benedictine abbey, both dedicated to St Zeno of Verona.
Arezzo Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy. It is located on the site of a pre-existing Palaeo-Christian church and, perhaps, of the ancient city's acropolis.
The Roman Catholic St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky, is a minor basilica in the United States. Construction of the cathedral began under the Diocese of Covington's third bishop, Camillus Paul Maes, in 1895 to replace an 1834 frame church that was inadequate for the growing congregation. Pope Pius XII elevated the cathedral to the rank of minor basilica on December 8, 1953.
Otranto Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Italian city of Otranto, dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. It is the archiepiscopal seat of the Archdiocese of Otranto. The cathedral was consecrated in 1088. It is 54 metres long by 25 metres wide and is built on 42 monolithic granite and marble columns from unknown quarries. Its plan is a three-aisled nave with an apsidal east end. On either side of the west façade are two lancet windows.
Belluno Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the historic centre of the city of Belluno, Veneto, Italy, dedicated to Saint Martin. It is the episcopal seat of the diocese of Belluno-Feltre. It was elevated to the status of a minor basilica on 18 June 1980 by Pope John Paul II.
Montalto Cathedral, otherwise the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta e San Vito, is the principal Roman Catholic church of the town of Montalto delle Marche, province of Ascoli Piceno in the region of Le Marche, Italy. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The church was formerly, from 1586, the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Montalto. When the diocese was subsumed into the present Diocese of San Benedetto del Tronto–Ripatransone–Montalto in 1986, Montalto Cathedral became a co-cathedral in the new diocese. It was created a basilica minor by Pope Paul VI in 1965.
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