Demosthenis Paikopoulos

Archon Domestikos of the Great Church of Christ

Demosthenis Paikopoulos was born in 7/10/1929. His chanting education started when he was only four years old, with the assistance of his father, Revd Konstantinos Paikopoulos who guided him through his first steps in the Religious Byzantine Music.

In 1939 he was selected to be Canonarch in the Ecumenical Patriarchate. There he studied under to Constantine Priggos and Thrasyboulos Stanitsas that tutored him in Byzantine Music at the Patriarchical Byzantine School.

In 1946 he was hired as a Domestikos in the Church of Saint Euphemia in Chalcedon next to the Protopsaltes Mr Georgios Karakasis who gave him valuable lessons in the art of the Byzantine hymns.

After 1950 he progressed to the following positions:
First Psaltes in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Topkapi.
First Domestikos in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stavrodromion.
First Domestikos in the Church of Mother of God in Stavrodromion.
First Psaltes in the Church of Prophet Elias in Chrysoupolis.

Later, he was called by the Patriarch Athinagoras to take over the position of the Second Domestikos in the Ecumenical Patriarchate, next to the Lambadarios Thrasyboulos Stanitsas (period 1958-1962).

In 1962, he was appointed First Psaltes in the Church of the Great Taxiarches in Mega Revma where he remained till September of 1964 when he was deported by the Turkish authorities because of his Greek nationality.

He is permanently resident in Athens since October 1964. During this period he was appointed Protopsaltes in the Churches of Analipsis Scaramanga, Saint Paraskevi of Kallipolis Piraeus, Saint Spyridon Piraeus and Saint Spyridon Aigaleo where he remains till this day.

Under his management as Leader Chorist the Byzantine choir of the Association of Constantinopolitan Friends of Music he has presented various concerts and since 1991 he has been formally appointed Leader Chorist of CMK that he has directed with great success till this day.

Demosthenis Paikopoulos has released several personal audio cassettes and with the blessings of the Ecumenical Patriarchate he has written a number of books on Byzantine music that will soon be published.

Finally, Demosthenis Paikopoulos has studied not only the Traditional Byzantine Music but also the European Classical Music and plays the violin. He is a graduate of the Higher University of Commerce and speaks English and Turkish as well as the Greek language.