The historical course of the Holy Tabernacle of St. George of Neapolitan until its fourth and final move to N. Ioniatranslated

November 2, 2026 will remain indelibly engraved in the church history of Nea Ionia. A day of deep emotion, spiritual joy and historical vindication, during which the fourth and final transfer of the imperishable sacred Tabernacle of the Holy New Hieromartyr George of Neapolitan, Patron and Protector of our Holy Metropolis, took place to his new Holy Church, in the heart of the "Ionian Center" in Nea Ionia.

By Archim. Epiphanius Arvanitis (Archbishop of the Holy Metropolis of Nea Ionia, Philadelphia, Heraklion and Chalcedon)

It was not simply a matter of transferring a holy Relic from one church to another. It was the completion of a historical journey of 229 years, of which 102 years in Greece. A path that was inextricably linked with the uprooting, the refugee, the faith and the hope of our ancestors.

The Holy Hieromartyr George the Neapolitan was martyred in the Kobia-Dere area in 1797 and after his remains were collected, where they were found intact, he remained in Neapolis, Cappadocia.

The first relocation took place in 1924, amid the dramatic conditions of the exchange of populations. Our pious ancestors,…