Markos Kampanis' Work for Two Byzantine Private Family Chapels

Over the course of LAJ's tenure, we have explored various private chapels. To date these have been exclusively focused on chapels set within the Latin rite context, but something we have never had the opportunity to show to date are such spaces set within the context of the Byzantine liturgy. Fortunately, today we have the opportunity to finally address this imbalance.

Markos Kampanis is an Athenian artist whose work we have featured previously, specifically in our article of June 3, 2026, "Markos Kampanis' Romanesque Image of Christ in Majesty at Mary Help of Christians Parish in Chester, Illinois." There we detailed his work within a Latin rite context and the Romanesque notes that he brought to it. 

In our follow up consideration of Kampanis' work, now set within the context of two private chapels, we will first turn to the famous island destination that is Mykonos. Here, Kampanis was commissioned to work on a private chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas.  He offers the following background on the project:

The church of Saint Nicholas is a small private chapel on the island of Mykonos, built in a traditional but at the same time modern style by the architect Th. Chatzilakos. The murals have been painted during 2012-13 directly on the wall using silicate paints. The iconostasis is painted with acrylic colors on imitation mortar on wood. It functions as a folding screen designed to open when the church is in use.

To gain a sense of just how small of a space we are dealing with here, here is a view of the exterior of the humble chapel of St. Nicholas:

As you can see, it is architecturally quite simple; effectively a barrel vault with an apse on the Eastern end.  But as we turn toward the interior, we can see the space open up for us as we look at the beautiful works Kampanis furnished this private devotional and liturgical space with, most especially the beautiful icon of the Theotokos found within the aforementioned apse.

The Virgin Mary Platytera

Sitting before this apse is a portable iconostasis featuring icons painted by Kampanis of St. Nicholas, the Theotokos, Christ and St. John the Baptist, while beneath these icons we find highly stylized depictions of some of the local flora and fauna of Mykonos. 

Located at the back of the chapel are scenes taken from the life of the patron of the chapel, St. Nicholas. In this case we see depicted here the miracle of St. Nicholas banishing the storm at sea -- quite apropos for an island setting.

Our second private chapel is a family chapel; that of Saint Demetrios located in Messinia, Greece.  Here again, Kampanis was engaged to furnish the newly renovated chapel with icon panels for the iconostasis. As in the case of Mykonos, the iconostasis includes the patron namesake of the chapel, St. Demetrios, as well as the traditional icons of the Theotokos, Christ and St. John the Baptist, while scenes taken from the local geography are found below, and icons of the twelve apostles are found above. 

A closer look at the larger icon panels showcase Kampanis' characteristic style, which has a certain 'looseness' to it that I personally find quite appealing. The use here too of a more neutral backdrop (rather than gold leaf) also gives these icon panels a unique and distinctive character, one which I find particularly fitting and suited to a private family chapel. 

St. Demetrios and the Theotokos

Christ and St. John the Baptist

The twelve apostles

If you would be interested in learning more about Markos Kampanis work, we would invite you to visit his website or to find him on social media.

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