Ioannis (John) Terzis was born on June 10, 1912, in Voinaki Karabourna in Asia Minor. After the war of 1922, Terzis and his family moved to Greece as refugees, where they settled first in Gastouni, Peloponnese. Terzis met Vasiliki Demetrakopoulos, his future wife, in Patras, and they were married in 1936. They had two children, Nick and Hrysoula-Myrsini.

In 1937 Terzis met Fotis Kontoglou, who was impressed by the painting he was doing at the City Hall in Athens. Kontoglou suggested that Terzis become his student, and so it happened. Terzis later became Kontoglou’s assistant and then his associate, and together they completed many paintings in a variety of churches. In 1947, starting with the church of St. Nicholas in Athens, Terzis began to work independently and was subsequently commissioned to paint numerous churches throughout Greece.

One of Terzis’ most important contributions was on the island of Rhodes. Fotis Kontoglou received a contract for Evaggelismos in Rhodes. He sent his loyal partner, Terzis, to start the platytera of the church. Kontoglou came to supervise the work for three weeks one summer. After that, Terzis completed the church over a period of several years. At that time in the 1950’s, iconographer Ioannis Terzis was the only one who painted the complete Salutations of the Virgin Mary in a church. According to the Rodaiki newspaper (June 3, 1961), he painted 308 saints and 95 compositions in Evaggelismos.

Terzis ended up going back to Rhodes again and again until he finished a fair number of local churches using fresco, among other techniques. He painted the Cathedral of Rhodes completely in fresco. This church dates back to the 12th century. Terzis received special permission from the Secretary of Arts and Education, on Nov. 19, 1957, to complete this work. In the 1950’s, Terzis was one of five or six artists recognized in Greece by the Department of Education and Religion for their outstanding Byzantine work.

In 1961 the U. S. government granted him a special visa as an iconographer and he moved to the United States with his family. He stayed first in Gary, Indiana, and then moved to Chicago, Illinois. Terzis’s iconography decorates many churches throughout the United States, most notably in Illinois, Texas, Indiana, Missouri, California, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. He did most of his work in his home studio, on canvas, and subsequently took it to the church, where he mounted the canvas and applied the finishing touches.

Ioannis Terzis died from emphysema in 1987. Soon after his death, he was awarded a fellowship by the Illinois Arts Council for his work. He is remembered not only for his magnificent art but also for his simple and noble character and his personal integrity.