St. Athanasius Church

About

The first stone of the St. Athanasius Church was laid in 1569, just decades after the conquistadors first arrived in Central America. The building was finally consecrated in 1782 after a long construction process - the 12 meter arch in front of the main altar is dated 1733. Amazingly, the church is almost entirely original, with some of its objects predating the building itself. The church’s main altar is an intricately carved tower of of mahogany and rosewood nearly entirely covered in gold leaf. The side altars are equally beautiful. Encased in the middle side altar to the left is the nearly life-sized wooden figure of Christ that is brought through the town during a candle-lit procession on Good Friday.