To find out more about the Survey and Study
of the Synagogues of Greece project please visit these pages:
Archive and Digital Archive
The only existing complete archive iniated and compiled over 30 years on
the history and architecture of the Synagogues of Greece.
Books
Several books have been published in Greek and English on the synagogues
of Greece. Some are available online.
Articles
Several articles have been published in Greek and English on the synagogues
of Greece. Some are available online.
Interviews
Several interviews have been completed on the synagogues of Greece.
Some are available online.
Exhibitions
Several exhibition have been opened on the synagogues of Greece.
Built
Projects
Several projects have been completed. Some are available online.
Travel Seminars to Greece
Can be organized per request upon timetable availability.
Lectures
Recorded lectures on the synagogues of Greece:
Topic
1: "Jewish Greece: The Romaniote synagogues"
Exploring the history of Romaniote Jews, and the architecture of the
Romaniote synagogue. With comparative examples of the Spanish, Turkish and
Italian traditions.
Topic
2: "Jewish Greece: The Sephardi synagogues"
Exploring the history of Sephardi Jews, and the architecture of the Sephardi
synagogue. With comparative examples of the Spanish, Turkish and Italian
tradition.
Topic
3: "Jewish Greece: The Architecture of the Greek synagogues"
Exploring the history of Greek Jewry, and the architecture of the synagogue
of each of three traditions: the Romaniotes, the Sephardi and the Reform..
With comparative examples from Spain, Turkey and Italy.
Topic 4: "Jewish Greece: Restoration of historic synagogues
in Greece"
An architectural journey of documentation and restoration of Greek synagogues
by the project architect.
Comments about Elias' lectures:
"Elias' presentation at the AJL Conference was amazing. It was my
favorite presentation." Haim Gottschalk, Library of Congress
"The special three part lecture series "Jewish Greece: A Journey
to the Past and Present," was an excellent course exposing our community
to the history, customs, and architecture of the synagogues of Greece. Dr.
Messinas is a brilliant scholar who is the leading expert in the subject
area, and a quality lecturer who was able to articulate more complex and
often high level academic jargon into layman's terms, easily understandable
for any audience. The lectures themselves were robust with details, covering
a large amount of ground in under 1 hour, a difficult task that Dr. Messinas
does very well. With nearly 200 participants in each lecture, this high
level turnout received much praise in our Greek Jewish and Sephardic communities
in the United States." Ethan Marcus, Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood
of America
"Congratulations again on your lecture yesterday [at the University
Architecture students]. I am personally grateful because, as I told you,
the lecture was incredibly interesting and multi-faceted. It had something
very different, special and refreshing. I would dare say that it proposed
the action and practice of the architect over the (often 'heavy', sometimes
ideological) theory. The lecture left up to us the viewers to make the relevant
connections - each in our own way. I wish students heard such lectures more
often - and from the faculty." Garyfallia Katsavounidou, Assistant
Professor of Urban Design and Planning School of Spatial Planning and Development
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
"The lecture was excellent and well received. Congratulations."
Marcia Haddad Ikonomopoulos, Director, Museum of Kehila Kedosha Janina
"An amazing three part series! Everyone I spoke to really enjoyed
it and I am so glad we were able to make this happen."
"Excellent Talk on Greek Synagogue Architecture. I really enjoyed
your talk on the architecture of Greek synagogues." Terry C.
"I enjoyed your lecture today." Joshua F.
Background
In the 1990s Elias initiated and undertook the survey and study of the
synagogues of Greece. The project is still on-going, spanning over 30
years. The project traced the history of the nearly 100 synagogues and numerous
Jewish quarters that stood in Greece prior to and after the Second World
War, most of which no longer exist. The project, undertaken since 1993,
was never before undertaken at such scope and scale. The project
was the basis for Elias s Ph.D. dissertation at the National Technical University
of Athens, Greece. The work has been disseminated in books, articles, lectures
and exhibitions in Greece, Israel, the United States and Europe. Hosted
by institutions such as Yad Vashem, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Goethe
Institute, Catholic University, Princeton Hellenic Studies, Yale Judaic
Studies, and more. Since 2016 Elias has been in charge of restoration projects
of historic synagogues in Greece, among others in Thessaloniki, Trikala,
and Kos.
"Elias Messinas
has made it his mission to document the surviving Jewish heritage of Greece,
to publish this account and remember the synagogues of those towns."
Samuel D. Gruber, President of the International Survey of Jewish
Monuments, USA
"Elias Messinas is an architect who has devoted himself to recording
Greece's Jewish architectural heritage."
Mark Mazower, Historian, Author, Columbia University. Bulletin
of Judeo-Greek Studies (22, 1998)
"Elias Messinas
was one of the first, when at a young age and in a climate of relative indifference,
if not negativity, he raised in the public debate the issue of rescuing
the synagogues of Greece."
Nikos Vatopoulos, Journalist, KATHIMERINI newspaper, Greece
About ELIAS MESSINAS
Elias V. Messinas is an architect and urban planner, sustainability
and public participation expert. Graduate of Athens College, of the Yale
School of Architecture, of Bezalel Academy, he holds a PhD in Urban Planning
and an MSc in Environment and Development from the National Technical
University of Athens, a postdoctoral fellowship from the Faculty of Architecture
and Town Planning of the Technion Institute of Technology, with published
research on bioclimatic design at the Desert Architecture Unit of the University
Ben Gurion.
Elias Messinas undertook, for the first time, the extensive study and survey
of synagogues in Greece since 1993. From 1995 until today he has undertaken
with associates the study and restoration of synagogues in Veroia, Salonika,
Trikala and Kos, while in Aegina, together with Yvette Nahmia-Messina and
in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Piraeus and Islands,
undertook the initiative to preserve the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue.
A scientific adviser to the Ministry of Culture of Greece for the creation
of a comprehensive registry of Jewish monuments in Greece.
Creator of the website Kol haKEHILA for the Jewish monuments of Greece
and ECOWEEK, which since 2005, promotes sustainable and participatory design
in 17 countries. He has shared his work in books, dozens publications, lectures,
reports, blog pages, and newspapers, among others of the Jerusalem Post
and News of Saronic Gulf .
Nominated for the Tallberg / Eliasson Global Leadership Awards and European
Prize for the Restoration of the historic Monastirioton synagogue of Thessaloniki,
and participated in the Greek catalogue of the Venice Biennale in 2006.
A Senior Lecturer at the Design Faculty of Holon Institute of Technology,
he also teaches sustainable design at Patras University. He practices urban
planning and public participation at Ginot Hair in the city of Jerusalem.
Link
to LINKEDIN Profile of Elias Messinas
Image to the left: Survey of the synagogue Kahal Shalom in Rhodes (August
1996). Copyright: Elias V. Messinas Archive
