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Origin and history

The Greek cathedral Saint-Étienne, located 7 rue Georges-Bizet in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, was built between 1890 and 1895 under the direction of architect Joseph Auguste Émile Vaudremer, financed by the Greek patron Demetrius Stefanovich Schilizzi. The latter, a banker in London who had begun his career in Paris, offered the building to the Hellenic State on condition that it served Greek Orthodox worship and welcomed the local Greek community. The total cost, initially budgeted at 3 million francs, was finally only 1.63 million, including the purchase of the land. The church, of neo-Roman style inspired by Lombard art on the outside and Byzantine inside, was consecrated on 22 December 1895 under the name of Saint Stephen, in the presence of the Archbishop of Heraclea and Greek and Russian notables.

The interior decorations were entrusted to the painter Charles Lameire for the murals, while the marble iconostasis was made by Ludwig Thiersch, and the stained glass windows by Léon Avenet. The building became an emblematic place for the Greek diaspora: in 1936, the funeral of Eleftherios Venizelos, a major figure in modern Greece, was celebrated there before his repatriation. In 1953, the church was raised to the rank of cathedral, and in 1963 it became the seat of the Greek Orthodox metropolis of France. It also hosted important events such as the marriage of Edith Piaf and Theo Sarapo in 1962, or Maria Callas' funeral in 1977.

The cathedral was classified as a historic monument in two stages: a first inscription on 26 June 1995, followed by a final classification on 5 January 2026. Its architecture, mixing stone and dew brick, and its interior paintings make it a remarkable example of Byzantine renewal in Western Europe. The centenary of his consecration, celebrated in 1995 by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, emphasized his lasting spiritual and cultural role in the French Orthodox community.

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