The Red Church ( el, Κόκκινη Εκκλησιά) is a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

from in the village of

Vourgareli Vourgareli ( el, Βουργαρέλι) is a Greek village in Arta prefecture. It is located in the north-east of Arta prefecture, built at a height of 900 meters in the slope of Tzoumerka Mountains. The village is the seat of Central Tzoumerka mun ...

in the

Tzoumerka Tzoumerka ( el, Τζουμέρκα) is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality North Tzoumerka, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...

region of Greece. It was founded as the ''

katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon ( gr, καθολικόν) or ''sobor'' ( Slavonic: съборъ) refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major church building (temple) of a monastery corre ...

'' of a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

by the brothers John and Theodore Tzimiskes, who held the rank of ''

protostrator ''Prōtostratōr'' ( el, πρωτοστράτωρ) was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master. Its proximity to the imperial person led to a highly visible role in imperial ceremonies, and served as a springboard for ...

''. The church was originally dedicated to the birth of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

, but became known as the "Red Church" due to the colour of its masonry. Historically, it was also known as "

Panagia Panagia ( el, Παναγία, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panajia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern ...

of Vella" (Παναγία Βελλάς), as it was a '' metochi'' of the Vella Monastery, and as "Royal Monastery" (Βασιλομονάστηρο), due to its importance. Due to their strong similarity, it has been suggested that the church was built by the same workshop that erected the (also known as St. Clement) in

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

in 1295.

References

Byzantine church buildings in Epirus (region) Despotate of Epirus 13th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Churches completed in the 1280s 13th-century churches in Greece {{Greece-church-stub