It is dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Sophia of Rome and her three daughters Saints Faith, Hope and Charity who were martyred in 122 AD in Rome under Emperor Hadrian and is celebrated on September 17 .
The church was founded in 1919 by His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos I of Athens. It is located on the ruins of an ancient Greek Sanctuary of Pallas Athena. The choice of these saints is not at all accidental but completely conscious because Athena was the goddess of Wisdom and the Meropeion Foundation had as its primary concern the education of young girls. Consequently, the first Council of the Foundation decided in 1914 to dedicate the Holy Church that it wished to erect at the center of its educational complex, to the Holy Great Martyr Sophia.
Also noteworthy is the fact that at this location, the famous Neoplatonic philosopher Proclus, Director of the Platonic School of Athens, had his residence. During the excavation of its foundations, in addition to the exceptional mosaics and other findings, a very beautiful marble statue of Athena was found, which was handed over to the Archaeological Service.
The wall structure of the Holy Temple consists entirely of the materials of classical and Hellenistic buildings from the area. It is built in the style of a single-aisled basilica and with the imposing Doric columns of its peristyle it harmoniously ties in with the Parthenon and the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, which is directly adjacent to the church.
The Holy Church remains open daily and the Divine Liturgy is celebrated without fail every Saturday and Sunday as well as on the major Feasts.
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