Ardameri

Ardameri (Greek: Αρδαμέρι) is a village in the regional unit of Thessaloniki of Greece, at the foot of Mount Chortiatis. It is a traditional Greek village with scattered houses and a maze of pathways often leading to a dead end.

It is situated 38 km east of Thessaloniki. It belongs in the municipality of Koroneia, which also includes the villages of Agios Vasileios, Gerakarou, Vasiloudi, and Lagkadikia.

The village has some 900 registered voters, but only 125 permanent inhabitants.

History

In the Notitia Episcopatuum of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886–912) the bishopric of Ardamerium (also called Herculea) is mentioned as the former see of Bishop Meletius, who signed the acts of the 1638 synod in Constantinople that condemned Cyril Lucaris for not having disowned the Calvinist Eastern Confession of the Christian Faith attributed to him.[1]

Ardamerium itself had been destroyed during the Turkish conquest of Thessaloniki in 1430. It was again destroyed in the 1821 suppression of the Macedonian uprising, led by Emmanouel Pappas, during the Greek War of Independence.

Ardamerium is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[2] It is part of the Metropolis of Ierissos, Mount Athos and Ardameri of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the "New Lands" of Greece, administered by the Church of Greece.

Ardameri cultural association

The cultural association of Ardameri was founded in 1983. Its purpose is the harmonic development of the intellectual abilities of the inhabitants, and the maintenance and extension of the local tradition and customs. It pursues these aims by:

1. Three dance groups, with a total membership of 65 people of all ages, who are taught traditional dances and spread local customs and tradition;

2. Maintenance of a folklore gallery;

3. Publication of the periodical The News of Ardameri";

4. Performances of the dance groups in the prefecture of Thessaloniki, and elsewhere in Greece.

References

  1. ↑ Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. II, coll. 97-98
  2. ↑ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 837

External links

Coordinates: 40°35′39″N 23°11′0″E / 40.59417°N 23.18333°E