The church of Agios Athanasios in the city of Ioannina probably existed from the Byzantine era. It became the metropolitan (cathedral) church of the city after the expulsion of Christians from the Castle in 1611. The church was destroyed during the siege of Ali Pasha in 1820-1822 and the present one was constructed in 1831-1832. It is a large, three-aisled, domed basilica, with a two-story matroneum (female quarters) in the west. The wood-carved iconostasis, dating probably to 1833, is quite remarkable. 1833 is also the year painter Dimitrios Gretzalis painted the despotic icons in Nizna, Ukraine. The church has frescoes in the sanctuary and the dome made in 1835-1836 by the painter Theodosios Zois and his son Constantine from Ioannina, while the remaining frescoes of the church were made in 1843 by the painter Petros Georgiadis, the head cantor of the Metropolis of Ioannina.
