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
'bead and reel.' The arches have radiating voussoirs, and the arch
spandrils and the frieze under the cornice are inlaid with scroll and
geometrical designs in black, white, and coloured marbles. The cornice
is of grey marble with a 'cyma recta' section, and is carved with an
upright leaf.[537]
On the eastern walls of the north and south cross arms, and flanking the
apse, eikon frames similar to those in the Diaconissa (p. 186) are
inserted. The northern frame encloses a mosaic figure of Christ holding
in His hands an open book, on which are the words, 'Come unto Me all ye
who labour and are heavy laden.'[538] In the corresponding frame to the
south is the figure of the Virgin, and, above it, an arch of overhanging
acanthus leaves enclosed within a square frame with half figures of
angels in the spandrils. The arch encloses a medallion bust, the head of
which is defaced, but which represented the Saviour, as is proved by the
indication of a cross on the aureola. The spaces at the sides of the
medallion are filled in with a pierced scroll showing a dark slab of
porphyry behind it, making a very beautiful arrangement. These frames
are distant from the eikonostasis, which stretched across the front of
the bema arch, nearer to the apse. On the south side are two doors
leading to the parecclesion, and on the north side above the cornice is
a small window from the north gallery.
The dome rests on a ribbed drum of sixteen concave segments, and is
pierced by eight windows corresponding to the octagonal form of the
exterior. The original crown has fallen and been replaced by the present
plain Turkish dome. The prothesis and the diaconicon are represented by
chapels to north and south of the apse. As already stated, they do not
now communicate with the bema, although the position of the old passages
between them and the bema is marked by niches in the marble revetment.
From the fact that the Byzantine marble work is continued across these
passages it is evident that the chapels were cut off from the apse in
Byzantine days. The north chapel is covered by a drum dome of eight
concave sections, and is entered from the lower story of the gallery on
the north side of the church. It should be noticed that the chapel is
not placed axially to this gallery. The south chapel is covered by a
plain drum dome, and is now entered from the parecclesion, evidently as
the result of the alterations made when the parecclesion was added.
The exterior is very simply treated. The side apses show three sides of
an octagon. The central apse has five sides of a very flat polygon, and
is decorated with hollow niches on each side of a large triple window.
It was at one time supported by a large double flying buttress, but the
lower arch has fallen in. As the buttress does not bond with the wall it
was evidently a later addition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account