Historic Athens church vandalized

Local residents and shopkeepers of the area saw a group of about 200 people coming down Ermou towards Monastiraki, shouting slogans in support of immigrant rights, on Saturday evening.

One young man jumped into the courtyard of the archaeological monument and wrote a slogan on the wall. The reaction of the shopkeepers was immediate, but the young man continued undeterred.

It is worth noting that the church of Panagia Kapnikarea is dedicated both to the Virgin Mary and St. Barbara. It was built in the early 11th AD century. In fact, in 1834 the temple was slated for demolition that did not go on after an intervention of Ludwig of Bavaria, the father of King Otto, the first king of Greece.

The church belongs to the University of Athens and the so we called "Sacred Temple University", A team from the 1^st Byzantine Antiquities Ephorate visited the vandalized church and within days they will begin work to clean the wall.