Spyridon Kontogiannis was born in Athens in 1975.

The son of a Navy officer and great-grandson of a priest, from a young age with a fighting spirit, he decided to study at the Officers’ School. (Military School of Evelpidon, 1994-1998).

Later and in parallel with his work as an Officer of the Greek Army (Class of 1998), as a restless spirit, he decided to enter the Technical University of Thrace (Democritus University of Thrace, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Msc). (2000-2008).

Before completing his studies, he began to visit Mount Athos where he met his spiritual Father and Brother, (+) Elder Ephraim of the Holy Vatopaedic Parliamentary Skete of Saint Andrew and Anthony the Great, Karyes, Mount Athos, for several years (2001-2023). The spiritual help and guidance of his Elder shielded and strengthened him in the launching of the ministry of Byzantine Iconography with Vision and Faith.

The deep roots of the Orthodox Faith and his acquaintance with Monk hagiographers gave him plenty of stimuli of creativity and thought to deal professionally with hagiography since he loved painting and drawing from a young age.

Being active and active, he followed a long period of study and study on Byzantine Iconography. He studied for 10 years (2010-2019), alongside the excellent hagiographer and art conservator, Markos Markos (Graduate of the Athens School of Fine Arts and graduate of the Department of Conservation of Antiquities and the Athens Technical University, now a teacher of secondary education), with a wealth of excellent works in both Holy Churches and Holy Monasteries. Equally noteworthy was his activity in the restoration and conservation of monuments and temples of Byzantine times.

Spyridon Kontogiannis, after a posting he took in Thessaloniki in 2019, studied techniques of the Macedonian and Cretan School as well as gold polishing when he joined Aspasia Papazapraidou’s team at the School of Hagiography “Hagiographer”(www.agiographos.gr) and studied techniques related to the face and the drawing. (2020-2023).

He attended several training seminars on Byzantine Iconography and techniques such as gryosome and tsukaniko (impressed and inlaid design) as well as training seminars on fresco painting and the conservation of works of art.

Nowadays, he continues to study hagiography with unabated pace, believing in the Socratic saying: “I have seen that I have seen nothing” and in Solon’s “I am always taught”.