Church of the Holy Apostles

Thessaloniki, Greece

The Byzantine church of the Holy Apostles is located at the start of Olympou Street, near the city's western medieval walls.

As evidenced by remnants of a column to the south of the church and a cistern to its northwest, it originally formed part of a larger complex. Consequently, it appears that the church was originally built as the katholikon of a monastery.

The date of its construction is not entirely clear: the founder's inscription above the entrance, the monograms in the capitals and other inscriptions refer to Nephon I, Patriarch of Constantinople in 1310–1314, as the ktetor. Another inscription on the eastern wall commemorates the same patriarch and his pupil, the hegumenos Paul, as first and second ktetores respectively. Recent analysis using carbon-14 however points to a later date for the entire structure, ca. 1329. A depiction of the hegumenos Paul kneeling before Mary, as well as a series of Marian scenes lead to the conclusion that the church was dedicated to Mary, perhaps to be identified with the Monastery of Theotokos Gorgoepikoos.

The building belongs to the type of the composite, five-domed cross-in-square churches, with four supporting columns. It also features a narthex with a U-shaped peristoon (an ambulatory with galleries), with small domes at each corner. There are also two small side-chapels to the east. The exterior walls feature rich decoration with a variety of brick-work patterns.

The interior gives a very vertical impression, as the ratio of height to width of the church's central bay is 5 to 1. The interior decoration consists of rich mosaics on the upper levels, inspired by Constantinopolitan models. These are particularly important as some of the last examples of Byzantine mosaics (and the last of its kind in Thessaloniki itself). Frescoes complete the decoration on the lower levels of the main church, but also on the narthex and one of the chapels. These too show influence from Constantinople, and were possibly executed by a workshop from the imperial capital, perhaps the same which decorated the Chora Church. They were probably carried out under the patronage of the hegumenos Paul, after 1314 or in the period 1328–1334.

With the conquest of the city by the Ottoman Turks, in ca. 1520–1530 the church was converted into a mosque with the name Soğuksu Camii ('Mosque of the Cold Water'). As was their usual practice, the Ottomans covered the mosaics and frescoes with plaster, after they removed the gold tesserae. The church's modern name, 'Holy Apostles', was not attributed to the building until the 19th century.

Restoration and the gradual revealing of the frescoes began in 1926. After the 1978 earthquake, the building was strengthened, and in 2002, the mosaics were cleaned up.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Religious sites in Greece

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Javier Diaz (4 years ago)
Very beautiful church. It only opens in the morning. Try to go when there are ceremonies... unique experience
Suhaib Mala (4 years ago)
Nice place,
Anas Z. Talhouni (4 years ago)
You can feel the ancient spirits in it
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.