Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church, Komotini

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church
The church in 2012
Religion
Affiliation	Armenian Apostolic Church
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	functioning
Location
Location	Komotini, Greece
Geographic coordinates	41.115031°N 25.408036°E / 41.115031; 25.408036
Architecture
Style	Armenian architecture
Completed	November 25, 1834 (1834-11-25)

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church (Armenian: Կոմոտինիի Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ եկեղեցի, Greek: Ναός Αγίου Γρηγορίου του Φωτιστή), is an Armenian Apostolic church in central Komotini, Greece.

History

The temple was built on a plot of the Armenian community of Komotini and today the surviving inscription is preserved, showing the year of construction and the amount used for the construction of the temple. The church is dedicated to St. James and was administered administratively in the Archdiocese of Adrianople. According to the Armenian religious tradition, there was a plague epidemic in Komotini and it became a vow to St. James, causing the plague to pass. Then the community held an annual "madagh" (Armenian "curban / tama") on the saint, but when the annual "madagh" was forgotten, a new epidemic swept Komotini. The faithful then reiterated the help of the saint and today every second Sunday of December honors St. Jacob in the church for the salvation of the city.