Michel Elefteriades

Metropolitan Chrysostomos Kalafatis, born on January 8, 1867, in Triglia (today Zeytinbağı), in Bithynia, and massacred in Smyrna (today İzmir), is the great-great-uncle of Michel Elefteriades.

In 1902 Chrysostomos Kalafatis was elected Metropolitan of Drama.

In September 1922, during the Greco-Turkish War, Bishop Chrysostomos succumbed in the streets of İzmir, after humiliating and atrocious mutilations and tortures.

The San Procolo church, that was abandoned and closed in 1966, is one of the oldest churches in Florence and it is located in the epicenter of the city, adjacent to Palazzo Bargello.

Michel Elefteriades (ميشال ألفتريادس; Μιχαήλ Ελευθεριάδης; born 22 June 1970) is a Lebanese politician, artist, producer and entrepreneur.

He is noted in the Arab world for his unorthodox beliefs and opinions, which have generated controversy and ignited passionate responses from his supporters and detractors alike.

With a Lebanese mother and a father of Greek descent (who is the grandnephew of Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Metropolitan Bishop of Smyrna), the Lebanese born Elefteriades speaks six languages and is well traveled.

He studied Fine Arts and Advertising in Nantes, France, and holds a master's degree in Graphic Design and Communication Arts from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA).

He was declared a martyr and a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece on 4 November 1992.

His feast day is on the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (7-13 September).

Elefteriades is an author and composer of more than 120 songs for such European and Arab artists as: Tony Hanna, Demis Roussos, Jean-Jacques Lafon, Nahawand, Hanine Y Son Cubano, Sébastien El Chato, Jose Gàlvez, Jose Fernandez, as well as a collective work featuring Saber Rebaï, Moein Sharif, Wadih El Safi, and Mohamad el Mazem.

Elefteriades is considered an Arab pioneer of World Music fusion.

As a music producer and song arranger, some of his creations are considered successful musical experiments in the Arab world.

A few of these are:

He has directed a number of music videos, for such artists as Galvez, Demis Roussos, Tony Hanna, The Chehade Brothers, Hanine Y Son Cubano, Nahawand, Tania Saleh, José Fernandez, Abdel Karim Chaar, Yusra, Rom Bakhtale, Tino Favazza.

Elefteriades has also directed documentaries about Tony Hanna and on the life of Nahawand.

In 1995, he presented The Wailing Wall, a 10x2 meters piece of art, at a special edition of the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs that took place in the Beirut Central District (instead of its customary location at Paris' Grand Palais).

This showing produced such controversy that it required special protection.

As a sculptor, Michel Elefteriades has worked on a series of bronze sculptures which represent capitalism and its influence on men and society.

In 1999, Elefteriades founded the "Mediterraneo Byblos International Festival", and was its director from 1999 to 2003.

In 2003, Elefteriades founded the "Beirut Music Hall", an 800-seat venue specializing in a unique concept that made it a night-clubbing destination in the Middle East.

He wrote, composed and directed the 2004 "The Journey of Four Songs", a musical for the Baalbeck International Festival.

Elefteriades is founder and co-owner of "Elef.Records", a former Warner Music label which has produced the following albums:

Elefteriades appeared as judge for two seasons on The X Factor, XSeer Al Najah (the Arabic version of The X Factor), in 2006 and 2007, which earned him the sobriquet of "the Arabian Simon Cowell".

In 2012, Elefteriades produced and created Western/Oriental fusion songs for Coke Studio, a music television series in the Middle East and North Africa featuring performances by various established Arab and international music artists brought together to collaborate and record original fusion songs meshing two or more unique music genres.

Although carrying the same name, Coke Studio Pakistan and Coke Studio Middle East have very little in common after all the changes that Elefteriades brought to the original format.

Featured artists were: Wadih El Safi (Lebanon), Nancy Ajram (Lebanon), José Galvez (Spain), The Chehade Brothers (Palestine/Lebanon), tenor Tino Favazza (Italy), DJ Jerry Ropero (Belgium/Spain), Mohamed Hamaki (Egypt), Mohamed Mounir (Egypt), Shontelle (Barbados), The Wailers (Jamaica/USA), The Yugoslavian Gipsy Brass Band (Serbia), Bilal (Lebanon), Rouwaida Attieh (Syria), Yara (Lebanon), Jannat (Morocco), Jay Sean (UK), Saber Rebaï (Tunisia), Fabián Bertero (Argentina) and Cairokee (Egypt).

In 2013, a second branch of MusicHall was opened in Dubai, UAE.

In that same year Elefteriades also opened "MusicHall Waterfront" in Beirut, an open-air venue near Downtown Beirut's sea side.

In 2015, he purchased a Renaissance palace in Florence, central Italy, dating back to the 15th century.

The Palazzo Magnani Feroni is currently a suites accommodation in the heart of Florence and has the highest panoramic roof terrace in the Oltrarno area from which you can see all the major monuments of the city.

In January 2016, Elefteriades has been summoned to the police station to testify in a case about a supposed sect of satanic worshipers.

Some of his work has been interpreted as satanic symbols.

In the summer of 2017, Michel Elefteriades opened a new restaurant-lounge, B By Elefteriades, a lavish temple dedicated to the senses and to good taste.

In 2018, Michel Elefteriades decided to invest again in Italy and he acquired from the noble Salviati family, the abandoned Roman church of San Procolo to make it an art gallery in which he would exhibit his medieval religious art collection and creations.

And in the summer of 2019, the MusicHall landed in Jeddah, making it the very first club to open in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, after Elefteriades bought the church, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage exercised his diritto de prelazione (right of refusal), due to the importance of this church, a premiere in the last decades.

In an interview with “La Republica”, Elefteriades said that he is happy that the ministry and the Superintendency are taking care of the church and that they are doing a fundamental job for the city of Florence.

In spring 2019, he opened The Park By Elefteriades, an open-air venue located on the rooftop of the Yacht Club in Zaytouna Bay in the heart of Beirut.

As a painter, his works have been presented at several collective exhibitions in France, Germany and Lebanon.