In the Greek festival postings I promised a look inside the church. Now, I was raised Catholic and really, we didn't take pictures inside church without a really good reason. You know, a wedding or baptism - and even then only a few. The rest were all outside in front of a saint statue or in the church hall.
But this church is so stunning, I really had to get over the discomfort and snap a few shots.
From the doorway, I still couldn't go in just to take a photo.
The murals and ceiling work is done in itty bitty tiles. They are hand made and some are gold. It is difficult to show the breathtaking skill it must have taken to finish this work. I do know there are more than 1,000,000 tiles in the dome.
To make all those tiles shine in their glory, they have some bling hanging about the sanctuary.
Even non-religious visitors appreciate the idea that artistic skill like this comes from a higher power.
There are large stained glass windows all around the church as well. They depict assorted religious scenes and filter the sunlight beautifully into the sanctuary. Here is one shot from the outside, with the reflection of the festival in the clear glass overlay.
The light on a few of these shots may look a little "blown out". The dome is very high, so even on a really sunny day, it is a bit dark and I had difficulty capturing the scenes without a little computer tweaking. With the editing I lost a little detail and the natural light look. I hope you can still get a feel for the glow inside this church.
Thanks for visiting!
M.E.
