Byzantine Churches in Constantinople: Their History and ArchitectureVan Millingen, Alexander
Philosophy
Byzantine Churches in Constantinople: Their History and Architecture
Van Millingen, Alexander
Architecture, Byzantine; Church architecture -- Turkey -- Istanbul; Church buildings -- Turkey -- Istanbul
The remains of the martyred heroine were taken for burial to the
monastery of Dexiocrates ([Greek: to monastêrion to onomazomenon
Dexiokratous]), so named either after its founder or after the district
in which it was situated.[262] This explains why the Gate of S.
Theodosia was also designated the Gate of Dexiocrates ([Greek: Porta
Dexiokratous]).[263] The earliest reference to the church of S.
Theodosia occurs in the account of the pilgrimage made by Anthony,
Archbishop of Novgorod,[264] to Constantinople in 1200. Alluding to that
shrine he says: 'Dans un couvent,' to quote the French translation of
his narrative, 'de femmes se trouvent les reliques de sainte Théodosie,
dans une châsse ouverte en argent.' Another Russian pilgrim from
Novgorod,[265] Stephen, who was in Constantinople in 1350, refers to the
convent expressly as the convent of S. Theodosia: 'Nous allâmes vénérer
la sainte vierge Théodosie, que (pécheurs) nous baisâmes; il y a là un
couvent en son nom au bord de la mer.' The convent is again mentioned in
the description of Constantinople by the Russian pilgrim[266] who
visited the city shortly before the Turkish conquest (1424-53). 'De là
(Blachernae) nous nous dirigeâmes vers l'est et atteignîmes le couvent
de Sainte Théodosie; la sainte vierge Théodosie y repose dans une châsse
découverte.'
Two other Russian pilgrims, Alexander the scribe (1395), and the deacon
Zosimus (1419-21), likewise refer to the relics of the saint, but they
do so in terms which create some difficulty. Alexander saw the relics in
the church of the Pantokrator,[267] while Zosimus found them in the
convent of the 'Everghetis.'[268] The discrepancy between these
statements may indeed be explained as one of the mistakes very easily
committed by strangers who spend only a short time in a city, visit a
multitude of similar objects during that brief stay, and write the
account of their travels at hurried moments, or after returning home.
It is on this principle that Mordtmann[269] deals with the statement
that the relics of S. Theodosia were kept in the monastery of the
'Everghetis.' In his opinion Zosimus confused the monastery of S.
Saviour Euergetes[270] with the church of S. Theodosia,[271] because of
the proximity of the two sanctuaries. Lapses of memory are of course
possible, but, on the other hand, the trustworthiness of a document must
not be brushed aside too readily.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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