The Church of Saint Nikodimos and the Holy Trinity is the main church of the Greek Orthodox Church and the principal parish of the Russian community in Greece. In addition, it is the largest surviving medieval building in Athens.
Construction of the church in the Byzantine style was funded by public donations. It began in 1030 on an already existing foundation: previously, this site had been occupied by an early Christian basilica, Roman baths, and an ancient Greek school.
The new church was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, but another name became more widespread — after the most generous benefactor, Likodimos.
Soon after construction was completed, the Spaso-Nikodimovsky Monastery was founded here. By the beginning of the 13th century, the church had passed to a Catholic convent, then to monks of the Benedictine Order, and only during the era of Turkish rule did it return to the Orthodox Church.
At the end of the 18th century, the walls were partially dismantled for material to build fortress walls. In 1845, the half-ruined church was purchased by the Russian government, and Emperor Nicholas I ordered funds to be allocated for its restoration. During the restoration, a bell tower was added to the church, and later his son Alexander II donated a bell for it.
