The Church of Saint George is situated within the Castle of Chios, standing as the central church that beautifies the Fortress area. According to an old stone inscription, embedded in the wall of the church, to the left of the main entrance and written in Ottoman script, the church was built in 993 AD. It is one of the oldest churches in the city and has been a place of worship throughout the ages. Over different historical periods, it has operated as a Catholic church, a mosque, and an Orthodox church.
During the Genoese rule, likely in 1396, it was converted into a Roman Catholic church, either dedicated to Saint Peter or, according to others, to the Holy Apostles. After the Ottomans conquered Chios in 1566, the church was converted into a Muslim mosque, the Eski Mosque, and remained so until the liberation of Chios on November 11, 1912. Following the 1881 earthquake, the church was ruined, and the current building was constructed on its ruins. It resumed its function as a church in 1914, serving refugees from Asia Minor. Since then, it has been the central church for the Fortress Parish. The church suffered significant damage in fires in 1936 and 1956 but was subsequently restored. In the courtyard, there is a marble sarcophagus, likely a monument for a distinguished member of the Genoese family of the Giustiniani, which was repurposed by the Turks as a basin for ritual washing before entering the mosque for prayer.
Saint George’s church houses important relics, such as sacred vessels, vestments, icons, books, candelabras, and more. Many of these were brought by refugees from Asia Minor during both the 1914 expulsion and the tragic Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922. The church houses a unique icon dedicated to the Saints of Chios.
