Icon of Agios Eleftherios

This icon of Agios Eleftherios, the patron saint of childbirth, belongs to Dimitris’s family. It hung on the wall of their home in Istanbul until they were forced to leave in 1964 following the expulsion of many Greek citizens from Turkey.

Dimitris’s father, Nikos, owned a shop in Istanbul’s Karaköy district. Together, they regularly attended the Church of Agios Nikolaos, located near the family business. In the Greek Orthodox tradition, the feast day of Agios Eleftherios is celebrated annually on 15 December.

According to Orthodox custom, an icon of the saint whose feast day is being celebrated is displayed in the church. As the Church of Agios Nikolaos did not possess an icon of Agios Eleftherios, Nikos would bring this family icon to the church each year, where it remained on display for two days during the celebrations. Today, the icon hangs on the wall of Dimitris’s home in Athens.

The Church of Agios Nikolaos dates back to the sixteenth century, although the present building was constructed in 1804. In 1965, ownership of the church passed to the so-called “Turkish Orthodox” community with the support of the Turkish state. Subsequently, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople initiated legal proceedings seeking the return of the church, along with the nearby Church of Agios Ioannis, which remains in a similar situation.