The delivery of a digital copy (facsimile) of the archive of research on the history and architecture of the synagogues and Jewish communities of Greece by the architect Dr. was completed in February 2023. Elias Messina to the Central Jewish Council of Greece.
A digital copy of the archival research material, which began 30 years ago, was handed over to the KISE for the preservation of the memory and the cultural and architectural heritage of Greek Jewry, in memory of Chaim-Victor Messina and Sylvia Messina, the Negrin family from Ioannina, in memory of Ilias Negrin and Eftychias Negrin, the genus Forni from Chalkida, and in memory of Markos (Sabethai Mercado) Messina and Malvina Messina, the genus Gani from Zakynthos.
The extensive research on the synagogues of Greece was started by Ilias Messina in 1993 and included, in addition to on-site documentation and impressions of all synagogues in Greece – some of which no longer exist – and extensive research in dozens of archives around the world. Among them, the Jewish Museum of Greece, the Central Archive of the Jewish People at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Roget-Viollet photographic archive in Paris, the Wiener archive and library in London and others.
The archive includes rare items such as architectural prints and representations of synagogues that no longer exist. For example, the synagogue and the Jewish club of Xanthi, the Beth El synagogue of Komotini, the synagogue of Didymoteicho, the synagogue of Alexandroupolis, the Beth Saul synagogue of Thessaloniki, the synagogue of Patras and the Jewish club of Kavala, in which post-war functioned a synagogue which was recently demolished.
The archive was enriched by the research for Ilias Messina's doctoral degree at NTUA, Department of Architectural Engineering, Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Planning, which was completed in 1999 under the supervision of Professor Giorgos Sarigiannis. It was then widely published. The archive was also enriched by Ilias Messina's subsequent visits to Jewish sites throughout Greece and by his research on the architectural restoration of historic synagogues undertaken with collaborators from 2016 to the present. Among them, the Monastriot and Yad Lezikaron synagogues in Thessaloniki, the Yavanim synagogue in Trikala, the Kaal Shalom synagogue in Kos and the ancient Romanesque synagogue of Aegina.
The rich material of the archive has been published in books by Ilias Messina, with the most recent editions being "The Synagogue" by Infognomon Publications (2022) and "The Synagogue" (Infognomon 2023). The digital archive of the history and architecture of the synagogues of Greece is already part of the collection of institutions in Greece, the USA and Israel. Among them, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Center for Jewish Art, the Jewish Museum of Greece, the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, the Kehila Kedosha Janina Museum and Stanford University. The rich research and archive of the synagogues of Greece by Ilias Messina will also enrich the Archaeological Land Register of the Ministry of Culture and Sports. Thanks to his research and documentation, the Jewish monuments of the Greek area will be included, as an integral part of the cultural heritage and history of the place.
The digital file consists of two main parts:
1. About 200 digital plans to capture, document and represent 22 synagogues in 19 cities throughout Greece.
2. About 1.500 digital photos from 22 cities in Greece with Jewish sites – synagogues, cemeteries, from 1993 until today.
The archive is also enriched by Ilias Messina's doctoral research at NTUA on the subject of the synagogues of Greece (accessible from the National Documentation Center) and by a copy of Ilias Messina's latest publications on the synagogues of Greece, among them 'The Synagogues' of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Trace: With Architectural Drawings of all Synagogues of Greece' with a foreword by Samuel D. Gruber (ISBN: 979-8-8069-0288-8, paperback) and 'The Synagogue of Veroia / The Synagogue of Berea with a foreword by Samuel D. Gruber (ISBN: 979-884-6836-06-8).
The digital material of the Elias Messina archive enriches the rich archive of the KISE, and especially the field of the history and architecture of the synagogues of Greece.
