Church of Saint Irene in Constantinople. From the main temple to the podium: the Church of Hagia Irene in Istanbul

Ἁγ. Eἰρήνη ἡ Παλαιά

Church of Saint Irene

Eglise de Sainte Irene, Constantinople

For the confession of Christ, the holy martyrs Irene and Sophia were beheaded in Egypt, during the reign of Hadrian. The relics of St. Irene was transferred to Constantinople under Constantine the Great, who built a temple in her honor.

Church of Hagia Irene is one of the earliest churches and the only example of a Byzantine church in Constantinople. The church is located in the historical center of Istanbul in the Sultanahmet district in the first courtyard of the Topkapi Palace. The church is a classical basilica in the shape of a cross. The vestibule of the church is lined with mosaics from the time of Justinian. In the church there is a sarcophagus, in which, according to legend, the remains of Constantine are buried.

The church was erected at the beginning of the 4th century on the site of the ruins of the ancient temple of Aphrodite under the Byzantine emperor Constantine and was the main Byzantine church before the construction of Hagia Sophia. It was here that the Second Ecumenical Council was held in 381.

In 346, over 3000 people were killed near the church due to religious differences. In 532, during the Nika rebellion, the church was burned down and then rebuilt under Justinian in 532. The church was badly damaged by an earthquake in 740, after which it was restored.

Chroniclers and patriographers usually attribute its construction to Constantine. This is already mentioned by Socrates, the author closest to the event, who specifies that the emperor gave her the name of the World (Eἰρήνη).

However, this historian in another place hints that the temple existed before this sovereign; according to him, she was small; the emperor expanded and decorated it. One of the lives of Paul the Confessor, partially reproduced by Photius in his Library, says that the temple was enlarged by Constantius.

It is possible that the church was a cathedral during the construction of Hagia Sophia. Saint Bishop Alexander prayed there for the triumph of Orthodoxy at the time when Arius was to be officially received in Hagia Sophia and suddenly died (in 336?). It was there that the successor of St. Alexander, St. Paul the Confessor, was ordained Bishop of Constantinople (in the autumn of 337). The temple of Hagia Irene played a leading role until the consecration of Hagia Sophia in 360. Both churches, however, were considered as if one sanctuary and were located in the same fence, as Socrates clarifies.

According to the Life of St. Stephen the New, the first ecumenical Council of Constantinople took place in Hagia Irene in 381 ... Διήγησις or The story of the construction of Hagia Sophia states that in 381 the Arians threw fire on the roof of Hagia Sophia, and that Bishop Nektarios transferred his bishopric to Saint Irene; restoration work was done only two years later.

Whatever the situation with this fire, St. John Chrysostom delivered a sermon in St. Irene in 398 on the singing of psalms. The church probably served as a cathedral church for about a dozen more years at the beginning of the 5th century, after the fire of Hagia Sophia in September 404, during the second exile of St. John Chrysostom, until its final restoration in 415.

According to one legend, during the strong earthquakes under Theodosius II and Bishop Proclus (434-446), a certain child was suddenly lifted into the air and heard angels singing the Trisagion; he went down without any harm, told what he had heard, and immediately died; he was buried in Saint Irene.

In January 438, the relics of St. John Chrysostom, brought from Asia Minor, were first placed in St. Irene, before being transferred to the Church of the Holy Apostles.

John Chrysostom. Engraving

Patriographers claim that the usurper Basiliscus, deposed by Zeno, took refuge in St. Irene with his wife and children (in September 477). However, the Easter Chronicle reports that it was in the baptismal of Hagia Sophia.

Istanbul Hagia Sophia

The church fell victim to the flames during the Nika uprising (January 532). Justinian rebuilt it, large enough so that Procopius could say that there were no such large churches in Constantinople, with the exception of Hagia Sophia. In December 564, a new fire that devastated the quarter destroyed the atrium and part of the narthex of St. Irene.

She was restored again. Vita s. Gregorii Agrigentini states that a council was held there in 588. Further, for more than a century and a half, not a single document mentions the sanctuary. On October 26, 738, it was seriously damaged by a strong earthquake that devastated Thrace.

It is impossible to say with certainty when the temple was rebuilt, but it must not have been under Leo III, as is commonly claimed.

This sovereign died on June 18, 740 and, apparently, had to restore, first of all, the walls of the City, which suffered significant damage. Probably, the temple of St. Irene was rebuilt under his son Constantine V (740-775). In 859, Patriarch Ignatius held a council there, which pronounced the deposition on his rival Photius.

We do not find any more traces of Saint Irene in Byzantine documents later than the tenth century, except for the writings of the patriographers. However, Pachymer mentions that in 1283 Germanus was ordained there and was appointed metropolitan of Heraclius of Thrace. Russian pilgrims talk about the temple only in passing, not attaching any importance to it. It can be said with sufficient certainty that divine services were held in the church until the very capture of Constantinople in 1453.

Patriographers call it πατριαρχεῖον - probably because the patriarch served there when there were no big ceremonies held in Hagia Sophia or in other churches, so we can consider Saint Irene as a patriarchal chapel. Writers call it τὴν παλαιάν, τὴν ἀρχαίαν (ancient) to distinguish it from the one built in Perama by Marcian in the 5th century, and also τὴν παλαιὰν καὶ νέαν - perhaps after its restoration in the 8th century.

Several special festivities were celebrated in the church of Hagia Irene. On January 23, the memory of St. Clement, Hieromartyr of Ancyra, and his compassionate Agafangel was celebrated. The consecration of the temple was celebrated on April 27 or 28, according to the synaxarii. On Good Friday, the patriarch delivered a catechumenical sermon there, and the patricians were to gather there by the end of this sermon.

When the feast of the Annunciation fell on Great Friday, the patriarch celebrated the liturgy there. On the same Good Friday, the Holy Spear was brought from the Imperial Palace and placed on the throne of St. Irene, where the patriarch came to bow to him and crap him, after which he was returned to the Palace. Finally, during the procession, when the tomos or the decree of unity of 920 was read, which put an end to the controversy about the four marriages, the emperor and the patriarch went to the church of St. Irene, where the service was performed.

The Temple of Hagia Irene was never turned into a mosque - probably because it was located in the Seraglio. Since the temple was located next to the barracks of the Janissaries, it served as an armory for several centuries. From 1846 to 1874 it housed the Museum of Antiquities, then it became the Military Museum. In 1946, she was released from all collections so that archaeological research could be carried out, which was very productive.

In general, this monument, in the form in which it has survived to this day, belongs to the era of Justinian. This is a domed basilica, something like a transition between a ceiling basilica and a Byzantine cross church topped with one or more domes. The building itself has a length of 57.50 m outside and 46.25 m inside.

The nave, 18 m wide, has 40 m to the apse. The side aisles, separated from the central one by a double row of columns and four powerful pillars, are 5 meters wide.

The atrium in front of the narthex was extensively rebuilt by the Turks. In general, it belongs to the VIII century. It has the shape of a parallelepiped ranging in size from 45 and 41.25 m to 33.75 m. The inner gallery is entirely Turkish; Turkish as well as the buildings surrounding front door in the north and bordering the apse from the outside.

The church is crowned with two domes. One, whose inner diameter is 16 meters, is semicircular, rests on four powerful pillars and covers most of the nave; the other, low, elliptical in shape, is located between the first and the narthex. The narthex is crowned with three vaults. The semicircular apse has a passage around its circumference, which allowed one to pass from one end to the other without crossing the altar.It is believed that it dates back to the 8th century.

Church of St. Irene in Constantinople. View from the southeast.

On the capitals are the monograms of Justinian or Theodora. All carvings belong to the era of this basileus. Mosaics show up here and there, more or less damaged or covered in painting. They are especially well seen on the triumphal arch and in the dome of the apse. In the latter, a large cross rises, standing on a pedestal of four steps.

There are two mosaic inscriptions in the arch, both of the 6th century, since they have the same characteristic features as the inscriptions in the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus. The lower inscription is taken from Psalm 64:5 next: σου, θαυμαστὸς ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν ὁ Θ<εὸ>ς ὁ σ<ωτ>. The upper inscription is written as follows: γελίαν (τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος εἰς ὑμᾶς ἠλπίσαμεν εἰς τὸ ὄ)νομα α(ὐτοῦ). In the room at the end of the right gallery, a fresco is visible on the wall, representing two saints, whose faces are mutilated.

Near the temple in the 6th century there were two ἀσκητήρια, something like cloisters for nuns, one of whose duties was to sing at funerals, according to the 59th novel of Justinian. The cloisters burned down in a fire in December 564.
(To here Janine)

We did not manage to get inside the temple; although some Turks came there with us for some reason, they did not let us in; only managed to take a few photos through the cat hole in the ground level metal door. In this temple, the burden of centuries is already felt: one of the walls is clearly tilted; it seems that they are propping it up, but, looking at it, you involuntarily think: how long will the temple stand? ..

On April 26, rain was promised in Istanbul, and I decided to go to museums. But first, of course, I went to the complex around Hagia Sophia, to admire its thousand-year-old walls, to glance at the Blue Mosque on the other side of the square, to see what was happening at the excavation site of the imperial palace. I was surprised to see that the Church of St. Irene, about which, is now open for visits.

But if in order, it is not clear when the ruins of the imperial palace will be opened for visits, visually everything remains the same as last year.

The excavations near Irina were not touched, everything remained as it was, only more overgrown. Away from the excavations, they caused all kinds of archaeological debris, in another Crimean museum, this would be considered a museum exhibit. For example, this base for a Corinthian column, if I'm not mistaken, with a built-in hatch :)

Irina herself is allowed in through a side door in the northern wall, with Turkish decoration. The front entrance, as in Hagia Sophia, is located in the west, but the surviving Byzantine atrium (the only one that has survived to this day) is not allowed from that side, it is closely adjacent to the wall of the Topkapi palace complex and wall buildings.

I already wrote about this one of the oldest Byzantine churches, which was founded by Constantine the Great, and in the middle of the 4th century, despite its name (eirene - "divine world"), became the scene of bloody religious strife between the Orthodox and the Arians (three thousand man was killed right in the temple). St. Irene repeatedly burned and suffered from earthquakes, therefore, acquired its final form only in the VIII century. And the walls bear traces of past centuries, while the passage inside is brought to its original state.

The story of Irina after the Ottoman conquest is bizarre. Deciding that one Hagia Sophia mosque in the area was enough for them, the Turks turned it into an arsenal, thanks to which it preserved and appearance and internal architecture. The design, of course, was not preserved, however, the frescoes died in the era of iconoclasm, and the interior wall cladding did not survive the Ottomans. But in Irina there is a lot of internal space, a kind of model only of the world itself, which is hidden in its name.

In terms of architecture, Saint Irene is not a masterpiece embodied in stone, which is Sofia next door. A nave, traditional for early Christian architecture, with two limits separated by a colonnade. Notice how symmetrical the appearance of the columns is in the left and right limits.

The main decoration was only a huge cross on a half-dome, preserved from the time of iconoclasm over a semicircular ambulatory with rows. They are not allowed to go there, repeating the motif of many mosques, accessible to tourists only by about a third of the total area.

Carefully walked around everything where you can walk. Once upon a time, the walls at the base were decorated with stone slabs with geometric shapes, they are partially preserved.

On the walls themselves, judging by the holes in the masonry, there was some kind of facing, lost over time, perhaps marble.

Still preserved are early Christian symbols on the capitals of the columns.

Theoretically, there will be an exhibition of Ottoman weapons on the second floor (this is a former arsenal), but they are not allowed in there yet, although there are stairs. Even from the previous occupation of the temple, a typical Ottoman drawing with weapons under the dome, repeating many Ottoman coats of arms, remained.

The main entrance is, of course, blocked, but the barred window shows that during the restoration inside the church, all Turkish layers were removed, while the narthex remained in the Ottoman style. What is now in the atrium is not clear.

If the floor of the cathedral is lined with modern tiles, then in front of the closed entrance it fancifully coexists with the Byzantine stone flooring.

The center of the Acropolis (the first courtyard of Topkapi) is occupied by a spacious green lawn, soaked from the rain. In good weather, a flock of stray dogs lie in the sun here (however, they are all chipped), but today it is cloudy, an impressive queue winds to the right to the ticket office of the Topkapı Palace. A few tourists turn left - to the Archaeological Museum and Gulhane Park. And quite a few are delayed at the small ticket booth of St. Irene.

The Church of St. Irene is a unique temple. Firstly, it is considered to be the only Byzantine building on the territory of the Acropolis (however, it is not clear then what to do with the Byzantine small church in the third courtyard of Topkapi), and secondly, St. Irene was never a mosque - under the Ottomans there was an arsenal, and then - a warehouse of all sorts of rarities.

The entrance to the church is under a white marble Turkish canopy, completely inappropriate for the harsh beauty of St. Irene. Light columns and ornamental panels look naive and touching.

Saint Irina is the elder sister of the majestic Hagia Sophia. Once there was a temple of Aphrodite. but under Constantine (at the beginning of the 4th century), a basilica was erected here, which until 360 served as a patriarchal temple. After the consecration of Hagia Sophia, her older sister, named after the Divine World, was united with Sophia by a common courtyard and served by one clergy. the spaces between the churches were filled with kitchens, utility rooms, and the great hospital of St. Sampson the Hospitable.
To imagine St. Irene in the prime of beauty, one must remember that the cultural layer here has risen more than five meters since the beginning of the century, and the temple itself has repeatedly burned (including during the Nika uprising) and collapsed due to earthquakes. So the modern view of the temple is approximately 753 years, the period of active iconoclasm.
An unusually wide ramp leads down to the powerful marble entrance portal.

Saint Irina is a cross-domed church. The huge main dome with a diameter of 15.5 meters is crowned by a quadrangle of walls 42.2 by 36.7 meters.
Everything inside is huge. The marble lining of tightly locked doors, laconically decorated with simple crosses, is striking.

A modern and rather ugly wooden staircase leads to the choir stalls. Unfortunately, access there is closed.

The floor slabs carefully fitted to each other are perfectly preserved. The original way of laying - I did not often see this. Compare with the marble rivers of neighboring Sofia!

The western gallery of St. Irene, from where the exit to the atrium opens, is huge and severe.

The dim light of a January day pours in through a window in the south wall.
Under Emperor Constantius II, it was here, in St. Irene. fierce disputes with the Arians took place. In 346, during the riots, about three thousand people died in a stampede near the walls of the church - the Constantinopolitans did not want to let the Arian bishop Macedonia into the temple, the guards began to clear the way with swords, the people, as expected, panicked, which led to sad consequences.

Atrium of St. Irene - Justinians. Unfortunately, few Byzantine churches have preserved atriums - for example, on the site of the huge courtyard of Hagia Sophia, there is now a summer cafe, a souvenir shop and a street. However, here the temple courtyard is in excellent condition, it is a pity that it is impossible to penetrate through the glass doors. The colonnade, however, is late, Ottoman.
In the depths, near the colonnade, is a huge porphyry sarcophagus. Surprisingly, the sarcophagus has not been damaged by time, and the tight-fitting lid has also been preserved. This miracle is 2.83 meters high, the sides are 3.20 meters. at 1.91 m. In guidebooks, this sarcophagus is marked as the sarcophagus of Emperor Constantine, but in reality it most likely contains the remains of Elia Eudoxia, a 24-year-old beauty, wife of Emperor Arcadius, who died in childbirth on October 6, 404.

The lid of the sarcophagus is decorated with an interesting cross - ankh, which goes back to the hieroglyph "life".
In the atrium there are the remains of another imperial porphyry sarcophagus, broken and belonging to an unknown person, as well as a well and a large earthen vessel, possibly for storing grain.

After admiring the courtyard, we return to the narthex. Here, in the arches of the windows, mosaic fragments with a geometric pattern have been preserved in some places.

Poorly preserved remains of murals show through on the ceiling of the southern aisle.

The interior volume is amazing. This huge, empty and light-filled space does not spoil even a stretched awning (something pours and drips from the ceiling). A huge black cat sits on one of the central floor slabs.
By the way. seen from here. that the columns are of different lengths and balanced by bases.

Capitals, beautiful in their simplicity, with crosses and in some places with imperial monograms, they can be seen from the side of the aisles.

Sometimes St. Irene is used as a concert hall - thanks to excellent acoustics.

In the apse, a rarity is a syntron or special steps laid out in an amphitheater for bishops. The syntron is raised about a meter above the floor level; a wooden podium separates it from the main part of the temple.

Wooden stairs and a gallery connecting them span a high arch at the western end of the nave. The cat (perhaps the guardian of this place having gone out for a walk) continues to sit, carefully looking around at the visitors. Stroking does not approve.

Through the awning you can see the main dome.

In the apse is the only decoration of St. Irene - a huge mosaic cross. Surprisingly, the image is laid out on a curved surface. The black outline effectively stands out against the gold background.

From May to July 381, meetings of the Second Ecumenical Council were held here.

This is what the outer walls of the atrium of St. Irene look like - an arcade in the background. White columns with plump capitals - one of the courtyards of St. Sampson's hospital. For some reason, tourists do not wander here, which is a pity.

The Constantinople soil level is clearly visible here - the door leading to the atrium was completely closed by the cultural layer.

In the backyard of a summer cafe, there is such an interesting pit with tunnels leading towards Hagia Sophia. The entire space between the temples is now built up - here are the powerful walls of Gulhane Park, and a whole street of houses - and it is almost impossible to imagine the Byzantine face of this place. I think archaeologists are waiting for a lot of discoveries.

in the K-field [Temple of the Holy Peace, Ancient Church, Patriarchal Church; Greek Ναὸς τῆς ῾Αγίας Εἰρήνης, ῾Αγία Εἰρήνη, Παλαιὰ Εἰρήνη, Παλαιὰ (ἀρχαία) ᾿Ε κκλησία, πατριαρχεῖον; lat. Ecclesia Antiqua], one of the oldest and largest Christ. temples of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire; founded no later than IV century., The surviving building was erected by the imp. Justinian in the 30-50s. VI century; Later, it was partially rebuilt several times. In present time - part of the Museum of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

Story

The exact time of the appearance of Christ. temple on the site of I. x. unknown. The temple is located on the outskirts of the urban area of ​​ancient Byzantium, near the so-called. Greek wall of the ancient city. Probably here already at the beginning. 4th century was a meeting place for Christ. communities. Church historian of the 5th century. Socrates Scholasticus mentions that in Byzantium before the era of imp. Constantine I the Great were Christ. community and humble temple (Socr. Schol. Hist. eccl. I 16). It is also known about the episcopal see in Byzantium. For confident identification And. x. with the earliest temple of Byzantium, there is not enough information. According to most Byzants. sources, I. x. was built in the 1920s and 1930s. 4th century imp. Constantine, who, according to Socrates Scholasticus, gave him a new name - in honor of the Holy World (Ibidem; Theoph. Chron. P. 23; Georg. Mon. Chron. P. 501; Phot. Bibl. Cod. 257; Patria CP, 1901, vol. 1, pp. 18, 74). The name of the temple marked the victory in 324 imp. Constantine victory in the struggle for sole power and the establishment of peace throughout the Roman Empire after many years of civil wars. The name initially had a political meaning. Similar constructions in honor of the establishment of peace were widely known in Rome. state traditions. These are the altar of Peace imp. Augustus Octavian (Ara Pacis Augustae), erected on the Campus Martius in Rome after the end of the long wars between 13 and 9 AD. BC; Temple of Peace, built in Rome by the imp. Vespasian after the victory in the Jewish War (70 A.D.). Thus, the construction of I. x. in the K-field became a continuation of the Roman tradition, but significantly updated Christ. worldview. The ideas of the Byzantines of the early era about the name I. x. reflected in the remark of the historian Procopius of Caesarea (middle of the 6th century) that both the “Holy World” (I. Kh.) and the “Holy Wisdom” (the church of St. Sophia) are the sacred properties of God, Who in reality and both major K-Polish temples are dedicated (Mathews. 1971, p. 79).

Since the construction of the Polish basilica of St. Sophia dragged on until 360, I. Kh. After 360, the consecrated basilica of St. Sophia became a cathedral, but the value of I. x. preserved. Both temples continued to be used simultaneously: they formed a single clergy, which performed services in St. Sophia on holidays and Sundays, and in I. Kh. - on weekdays. The temples are located 110 m apart; their close position is repeatedly mentioned in historical sources (Socr. Schol. Hist. eccl. II 6). The temples are oriented along one axis to the southeast; they had a single fence, and a single complex of social-religions was gradually built around them. buildings of various services of the K-Polish Patriarchate, the palace of the patriarch and his office - the Great Church (Μεγάλη ᾿Εκκλησία; Ibid. II 16). During the long periods of construction of the church of St. Sophia, and then his numerous reconstructions and repairs of the main events of Christ. life of the K-field were concentrated in And. x. The role of a temple at the patriarchal residence was gradually assigned to this church.

In 336, Bishop Alexander K-polsky locked himself in I. x. and several days of praying for God's help in resolving a dispute with the Arians, since at this time the imp. Constantine demanded that he accept Arius into church communion. The conflict was resolved with the unexpected death of Arius (Ibid. I 37-38; Sozom. Hist. eccl. II 29-30; Theodoret. Hist. eccl. I 14; Theoph. Chron. P. 32-33). In 337 in I. x. was ordained bishop of the K-field of St. Paul the Confessor, but soon, due to the opposition of the party of supporters of the deac. Macedon he was deposed and exiled to Thessalonica (Socr. Schol. Hist. eccl. II 6-7; Sozom. Hist. eccl. III 3-4; Theodoret. Hist. eccl. I 19). Eusebius of Nicomedia became bishop; after his death in 341, St. Paul tried to return to the pulpit. When the prefect of the K-field Philip, on the orders of the imp. Constantius II carried Macedonia (to which he supported) in a chariot to I. x. for ordination, next to the temple, they met the fierce resistance of a crowd of people. The soldiers accompanying the prefect forcibly paved the way to the temple, and 3150 inhabitants died: some died under the onslaught of the crowd, some were killed by the prefect's guards (Socr. Schol. Hist. eccl. II 16; Sozom. Hist. eccl. III 7; Theodoret Hist eccl I 14; Theoph Chron pp 32-33). From this moment until 380 ecclesiastical authority in the K-field remained in the hands of the Arians, and the temple also belonged to them. According to the Life of Prmch. Stephen the New, in 381 in I. x. meetings of the Ecumenical Council II were held, which finally approved the Creed and condemned Arianism (Vita S. Stephani Junioris // PG. 100. Col. 1144). St. John Chrysostom during the period of the bishopric in the K-field (398-404) delivered a series of sermons in I. x. In 404, during the unrest caused by the exile of St. John Chrysostom, the basilica of St. Sophia was burned, and until 415 I. x. was the main city temple. According to legend, in 447 in I. x. a boy was buried, who was raised to heaven during an earthquake in the K-field and heard there angelic singing Trisagion (ActaSS. Sept. T. 4. P. 687; SynCP. Col. 426). In 465, a large fire that destroyed part of the center of the K-field almost spread to the I. Kh., but this time the temple was not damaged (Evagr. Schol. Hist. eccl. II 13; the historian here calls the I. Kh. temple " Unanimity", ῾Ομονοίας).

Jan 13-15 532, during the Nika uprising, I. x. burned down, like the entire center of the K-field. An eyewitness to the events, Procopius of Caesarea, wrote that a strong wind threw the flame from the roof of the palace of the prefect of the praetorian to I. x., the fire destroyed on its way the baths of Alexander and the hospice houses of Euvulus and Samsonius, along with their patients (Procop. Bella. I 24; Idem. De aedificiis I 2 Chron Pasch P 622 Theoph Chron P 181, 184 Cedrenus G Comp hist Vol 1 P 647-648 Zonara Epit hist Vol 2 P. 154-155). The restoration of the temple was included in the large project of imp. Justinian for the construction on the site of the ruins of the new center of the K-field, including the Cathedral of St. Sophia. The surviving architectural appearance of I. x. for the most part belongs to the era of Justinian. Dec. 564 (or 563) a new fire in the K-field destroyed a significant part of the buildings of the center, including 2 monasteries next to the I. Kh., as well as part of its atrium and narthex (Theoph. Chron. P. 240 ). Probably, the losses were soon restored.

Oct 26 740 I. x. badly damaged by an earthquake (Niceph. Const. Brev. hist. P. 59; Theoph. Chron. P. 412). Reconstruction was carried out in the next few. years, most likely after the approval of the emperor on the throne. Constantine V (743).

Their. again mentioned in the sources in 859 in connection with the history of the struggle of church parties of St. Ignatius and St. Photius for Patriarchal Throne. Deported in 858 from the K-field of St. Ignatius, leaving, imposed a ban on holding services in St. Sophia. Supporters of St. Photius, who was enthroned instead of St. Ignatius, occupied the Cathedral of St. Apostles, but several. bishops who supported St. Ignatius, 40 days sat in I. x. and announced the deposition of St. Photius (Mansi. T. 15. Col. 211; T. 16. Col. 416). The decision of this Council did not come into effect, since the majority of the church clergy and imp. Michael III at that time was supported by St. Photius.

In 923 imp. Roman I Lekapinus issued a politically important decree, according to which the conclusion of the 3rd marriage was allowed under very strict restrictions, but the 4th marriage was condemned. The decree was called upon to end the confrontation between supporters and opponents of the 3rd marriage of imp. Leo VI the Wise. On the occasion of the reconciliation of the parties, it was established annually in July to perform a solemn service in I. x .; then a church procession, in which the patriarch and imp. the family was on their way to St. Sophia (Const. Porphyr. De cerem. I 45 (36)).

According to the sources of the X century. it is known about some special liturgical ceremonies that took place in I. x. Jan 23 a commemoration of the martyr was performed here. Clement of Ancyra (SynCP. Col. 417); the consecration of the temple was celebrated on April 27 or 28. (Ibid. P. 631-632); on Good Friday, the patriarch performed a service for catechumens, i.e., catechumens (Const. Porphyr. De cerem. I 43 (34)). Also on Good Friday from the reliquary imp. The Grand Palace (or the Temple of the Mother of God Farah) in I. x. taken out to venerate St. copy ( Dmitrievsky A. A. Ancient patriarchal typicons. K., 1907. S. 137-138).

After the 10th century Their. almost never mentioned in Byzantium. sources. Probably, the temple lost its significance after the XII-XIII centuries. the political center of the K-field and partly the Patriarchal residence gradually moved to Blachernae. Nevertheless, until 1453 I. x. retained his position as one of ancient temples K-fields.

Since 1464, during the era of Ottoman rule, the temple was included in the territory of the Sultan's Topkapi Palace and was used as a barracks for the palace guards of the Janissaries. In 1726, under Sultan Ahmed III, in I. x. stockpiled weapons; the building in everyday life was called Ich Jebehane (Arsenal). Buttresses reinforcing them were brought to the walls in a number of places. In 1846, a tour museum was placed in the temple. military trophies. In 1875, a department of antiquities was organized at the museum, among which Byzantium was demonstrated. sarcophagi, a chain stretched across the Golden Horn during the siege of 1453, a monument to the hippodrome charioteer Porfiry, a pedestal for a silver statue of imp. Evdokia. In 1894, Russian. researcher D.F. Belyaev, as part of the RAIK scientific mission, visited the museum, accompanied by Turkish guides and ambassadors. He described the architecture of the temple, as well as ancient weapons hung on the walls of the altar and laid out on the sintron, which was sheathed with wood instead of marble. In I. x. the mission was caught by an earthquake; the temple from strong tremors quickly covered with cracks to the very drum, but no one was hurt.

In 1939 from I. x. the Turkish exposition was removed and it was transferred to the museum of the Hagia Sophia. In the XX century. in the course of archaeological research, burials of the Byzantine era were found to the south of the temple, and a large water cistern was found to the southeast of it. In present At the time, the temple is partially open to the public as a branch of the Museum of the Cathedral of St. Sophia.

Architecture

The Church of St. Sophia and I. Kh., constituting a single liturgical whole, were the main symbol of the ecclesiastical and political power of the capital and the empire. Their. (external dimensions 100 × 34 m, internal - 97 × 28.5 m) was one of the largest architectural projects of the imp. Justinian. In terms of area, it was surpassed only by the churches of St. Sophia (532-537; 77 × 71 m) and most likely St. Apostles (536-550; exact dimensions unknown) (see: Mathews. 1971. P. 78). Procopius writes that the area of ​​I. x. was only smaller than the area of ​​the Cathedral of St. Sophia (Procop. De aedificiis. I. 2, 13). Among the basilicas I. x. was the longest in length, but the Basilica of the Virgin of Chalkopratia (between 450 and 460; approx. 69 × 31 m) surpassed it in width.

In the architecture of I. x. 4 main construction stages are distinguished: during the reign of Constantine, when the church was a simple basilica; the erection of a domed basilica under Justinian after 532; restructuring after the fire of 564 and after the earthquake of 740. In the present. the time of I. Kh. - a 3-nave domed basilica with a narthex, an atrium and a 5-sided apse with a vima.

Naos

Their. consists of a central domed space and a smaller compartment adjoining it from the west. The central space, square in plan, is covered with a dome on a drum. The drum has complex outlines: at the base there is a square with rounded corners, which, closer to the window openings, takes the form of a regular circle, turning into a low dome. The transition from powerful girth arches to the drum is carried out through the sails of the correct triangular shape. Sev. and south. the arches reach the outer walls, i.e. forming the arms of the domed cross to the entire depth of the side aisles. Vost. the girth arch overlaps the vima and connects with the conch of the apse through a 2-ledged triumphal arch. Zap. the dome arch serves simultaneously as a support for the arch of the app. pump compartment. It is covered with a domed vault of complex elliptical shape; his sowing and south. girth arches also reach the outer walls. The central dome rests on powerful pylons, between which 4 columns are placed, serving as supports for the choirs above the side naves. In zap. compartment, these choirs are supported on each side by a column and a powerful pylon. Together with the choirs above the narthex, they form a U-shaped bypass around the central nave in the 2nd tier. In the gaps between the domed pylons, the choirs open into the central space and are fenced off only by low colonnades. The entrance to the naos is carried out from the atrium through the narthex, as well as directly through the doors to the app. parts of the sowing nave and the central part of the south. Relatively recently, 2 more entrances, laid at a later time, were discovered, flanking an internal niche of unknown purpose in the central part of the sowing. nave raised above floor level.

The side naves are covered with transverse box vaults separating each of the grasses. Since they rest on arches of different levels (transverse, thrown from the imposts of the colonnades to the piers between the windows on the outer wall, longitudinal in the colonnades and near the walls above the windows), they represent an uneven surface. Nevertheless, lined up in a row, they form a beautiful perspective of curved surfaces. Thin and graceful marble columns separating the naves (1 each in the western and 4 each in the eastern compartments of the colonnades) contrast with the powerful brick pylons. They are simple in decor: instead of complexly profiled bases, they stand on square pedestals. The capitals are turned into trapezoidal mullions with volutes, related to the so-called. pseudoionic order. From the side of the central nave, a cross is carved on them in low relief, and from the side of the side naves they are decorated with the monograms of imp. Justinian and imp. Theodora, the same as in the church of St. Sophia. This is a rather modest decision, since usually the monograms of the emperors occupied a more prominent place in the decor of the temple.

The narthex is slightly wider than the naos and atrium. It consists of 5 cells: the lateral ones are covered with the original cross vaults, the rest - with cylindrical longitudinal and cross (central) vaults, erected in a tour. time. From each cell, the doors led to the atrium - to 3 central rectangular portals with arched windows above them and to 2 side arched, higher ones (now blocked). At the level of the vaulted structures of the lower tier there is a Byzantine cornice. time, which covers the entire space of the temple around the perimeter. Above the narthex there is a vaulted gallery: Byzantine cross vaults have been preserved in its corner rooms. time, 3 central vaulted cells already belong to the tour. perestroika. In the western wall of the gallery, 5 windows face the atrium; the same number of windows in the eastern wall are directed towards the central nave and side galleries. The preserved narthex belongs to the period of the 2nd Justinian construction. The previous one occupied the app. part of an existing compartment of the naos: massive supports under the choirs mark its east. border. It did not exceed the width of the temple.

The apse, polygonal on the outside, has a regular semicircular shape in the interior. In the eastern part of the temple, the naves end with domed compartments resembling pastophoria. They are located on the sides of the vima and have doorways from the north, south and east, decorated with monumental portals. Vost. the doors originally led outside, but after 532 (Mathews. 1971, p. 84) irregularly shaped rooms were added to the sides of the apse. The masonry of the eastern compartments of the naves is a rough alternating combination of 5-6 rows of bricks and 3-4 rows of stone. For a long time they were considered isolated and taken as additional apses of the temple, as a result of which O. Wulff's theory of a 3-part sanctuary arose (Wulff O. Altchristliche und byzantinische Kunst. B., 1913. Bd. 1. S. 384) and F. V. Deichmann - about I. x. as about the prototype of 3-apse altars in the Middle Ages. Italy (Deichmann F. W. Caratteristiche dell "architettura proto-bizantina nel occidente // Corsi di cultura sull" arte ravennate e bizantina. Ravenna, 1957. Vol. 5. P. 54).

There is a lot of light in the temple, penetrating through a large number of windows in the drum, the altar, and the walls. Some of the windows now have rectangular outlines, but in Byzantine. time they all had a semi-circular completion. The windows are so wide that they turn the walls into a thin membrane, which does not carry the weight of the dome expansion and is completely extinguished by massive supports. In the altar above the syntron there are 3 windows, the largest in size; their axes diverge along the radii from a single center. The drum is cut through with smaller windows, there are 20 of them in total (only 5 are open at the present time). Windows of equal size were made on the side walls, making up a 4-tier composition, initially symmetrical (in Turkish times, several openings were laid). The lower tier, with an uneven distribution of doors and window openings above them, corresponds to the level of the naves; the other 3 are at the gallery level. In the central compartment from the north. and south. sides above 2 rows of 5 windows, 3 windows are placed, completing the lunettes of the walls (laid in the northern wall). In the western, narrower one, a similar composition is truncated by one axis. Probably, the windows on the west were also located. wall.

Modern appearance I. x. in many ways similar to the appearance of St. Sophia Cathedral. Sowing surfaces. and south. the membrane walls are slightly recessed and outlined by huge arches corresponding to the protrusions of the dome arms. The arches are completed with gables formed by 2-pitched roofs above the domed arms. Small tongs are placed between them, completing the wide central shoulder blades and complementing the overall rhythm of the design of the side walls. The walls between the windows of the main drum have been turned into small buttresses, above which a flat dome rises. Roof over the vault compartment is so low that it is barely visible from the outside.

decoration

According to A. van Millingen, all surfaces of the walls in the interior were covered with marble cladding. This assumption is confirmed by a large number of marble fragments and metal staples found in the masonry. The upper zones of the temple - the dome, sails, dome arches, conch - were covered with mosaics. The mosaic of the conch has been preserved: on a golden background with green earth, there is a golden cross in a black edging resting on a 3-stepped pedestal. There are 2 mosaic inscriptions on the triumphal arch. The lower one corresponds to Ps 65. 5-6 (Ps 64 in the Septuagint version): , ἡ ἐλπς πάντων τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς κα τῶν ἐν θαλάσση μακράν" (Let us be satisfied with the blessings of Your house, Your holy temple. Terrible in justice, hear us, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth, and those that are far off in the sea. The upper inscription is damaged (the letters shown in square brackets are written in paint in the places of destruction of the mosaic and, apparently, do not match what was originally written); meaning is restored hypothetically - “[῾Ο ο] ἰκοδομῶν εἰς τ[ὸν οἰκόν σου κα] ἀνάβασιν αὐτοῦ, κα τὴν ἐπαγγε λίαν [τοῦ ἀγίου πνεύματος εἰς ὑμᾶς ᾐλπίσαμεν εἰς τὸ ὄ]νομα α[ὐτοῦ]". Van Millingen (1912. P. 95-96) reconstructs the inscription on the basis of sayings from Am 9.6 ῦ κα τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπ τῆς γῆς θεμελιῶν) and Ps 32 2-1 and Is 26.8 (ἠλπείσαμεν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ): “He built His heavenly chambers in heaven and established His arch on earth; We trust in His Name." The inscriptions are placed in a frame of floral motifs. The remains of an ornamental mosaic, similar to those preserved in the church of St. Sophia, survived in the arches. According to the composition of pictorial motifs, most of the mosaics can be attributed to the iconoclastic period (between 726 and 785), when St. the cross became the main iconographic motif and replaced in many others. temples, the former images of Christ, the Virgin and saints (Ibid. P. 102). In addition, this mosaic could have suffered damage in 740, and it could have been replaced with a new one. The same iconographic program with a quotation from Ps 65. 5-6 originally adorned the conch of the apse of the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Thessalonica (80s of the 8th century). An inscription from Ps 65.5-6 is also found in the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in the K-field (middle of the 6th century), i.e., the original texts of the inscriptions probably appeared in the era of Justinian.

From the liturgical decoration of the altar, only a 6-level sintron with steps of 55-60 cm has been preserved (except for the top one, equal to 45 cm). A study of the masonry made it possible to determine that none of them belonged to the initial stage of construction. Like the lower parts of the walls of the central nave, the base of the syntron is built of square stone blocks, although smaller. The top of the seats were made of brick. Under the syntron is a semicircular corridor, which was illuminated through several. holes located on the 4th stage. The arched vaults of this corridor are lined with bricks, and the entrances are decorated with modest profiled portals, typical of the time of Justinian. Similar corridors enveloping the sintron from the outside or located inside it are often found in Asia Minor architecture (the Church of John the Theologian in Ephesus, 565; basilicas on Gemiler Island (Greek: Levyssos; near Fethiye) of the 6th century?). This characteristic k-Polish range of monuments, although its origin is most likely to be sought in the building tradition of Roman theaters.

The altar barrier has not survived, and now it is impossible to determine its exact configuration. It can be assumed that she was traditional. U-shaped, and the ciborium above the throne stood along the axis of the sintron. The pulpit is mentioned during the time of Patriarch Photius (858-867, 877-886), but there is no information about its location. The floor was re-tiled with stone slabs on tour. times, there are no traces of the former pavement.

Atrium

In present time atrium I. x. has a double bypass: inner portico tour. time and Byzantium. external vault. The oldest Byzants. parts belong to the period after 564, when the previous atrium was destroyed by fire, as mentioned in the work of Theophanes (Mathews. 1971. P. 81); there is no information about his appearance. Accurate layers of brick with occasional splashes of green stone, found in the inner portico and similar to the masonry of the atrium of St. Sophia, allowed P. Grossman to reconstruct the arcades built after 564 (Grossman. 1965). He also discovered in the south. portico remnants of the Byzantine. arcade, consisting of 2-column cells, above which there were triple small arches: the atrium was 2-story (Mathews. 1976. P. 103). In 740, the atrium was reconstructed, as a result of which its appearance has changed greatly. The supports were strengthened and expanded, the columns were removed, and the triple arches were turned into single-span, as can be seen from the remains of the south. portico. The masonry technique was replaced by 2 layers of bricks alternating with each other and one layer of crushed red stone. Most likely sowing. the side of the atrium was built similarly to the south, i.e., in the form of an arcade. What did the app look like? part after 740, difficult to determine. Grossman of all options of its reconstructions, he chose the most elegant one, according to which a cubic compartment was located in the center, and 3 arched openings on its sides. In addition to 5 passages to the narthex from the north, 2 more doorways led to the atrium, from the south - one opening into a corridor richly decorated with marble lining, which ran parallel to the south. the wall of the temple along the secondary buildings (large open courtyard, tombs, cisterns). In one of the rooms next to the narthex, the remains of a staircase leading to the gallery of the temple were found. It went from west to east and consisted of 3 staircases rising to the level of the galleries by 9 m; the first of them (3 m) has been preserved, with a portal decorated with large limestone blocks. This site was discovered as a result of the excavations of Ramazanoglu in the 40s. 20th century (Idem. 1971, p. 79).

Skevophylakion

At the north-east. corner of the temple F. Dirimtekin discovered a round building, which was presumably a skevophylakion (Dirimtekin. 1962); unfortunately, it was not accurately measured and fixed. In general, it was a rotunda with a diameter of 4 m, inscribed in a square with a side of 5.25 m. The masonry is identical to that used in the construction of a small extension from the east. sides, but there is a seam between them, which indicates a later period of construction. The masonry technique is a rough combination of bricks and stone dressings (5-6 brick, 3-4 stone rows). It is similar to the one used in the atrium in 740 (2 brick, then a stone row). Thus, the skevophylakion can be dated to after 740 (Mathews. 1971, p. 84-85).

Dating and analysis

In science there is no unambiguous t. sp. on the dating of parts of the surviving building. There is a version that the building of 532 was erected on the old foundation, although it has a more elongated shape (Belyaev. 1894. p. 783; Mathews. 1976. p. 102). According to W. George, the narthex of Constantine has 2 massive intermediate supports in the west. parts of the naos (George. 1913), with which not all researchers agree (Mathews. 1976, p. 102). By 532, George refers the level to the cornices on the pillars of the main nave, lined with hewn stones; the laying of the upper parts of the building, where brick and stone layers alternate (opus mixtum), and some sections are lined only with brick, was carried out after 740. By 564, he refers only flat belts of bricks with occasional inserts of green stones in the atrium and narthex. With t. sp. R. Krautheimer (Krautheimer. 1987. P. 249-253), the temple retained the plan of 532 (including the premises at the eastern ends of the naves). Above the side naves were vaulted galleries, west. the naos compartment was covered by 2 barrel vaults. The under-dome space is hypothetically reconstructed by him on the model of the one that was preserved in the Cathedral of St. Sophia: above the side galleries, which opened into the naos with triple arcades (similar forms are preserved in Kasr-Ibn-Vardan, Syria, middle of the 6th century, and Alakhan , Turkey, end of the 5th century), there was a cleristory zone with “segmented windows”. The vault zone and the dome were destroyed in 740 and rebuilt with some changes. The vaults above the side galleries were dismantled, the girth arches were extended to the outer walls and turned into sleeves of a clearly defined domed cross (see also Komech. 1987, pp. 17-18). According to the opinion expressed by J. Ebersolt and developed by T. Matthews, the entire building, together with the dome, was erected under imp. Justinians (Mathews. 1976, p. 102). The narthex, like the atrium, belongs to the rebuilding period after 564; the previous narthex was 8 m to the east (see above). One way or another, the appearance of the building, even if it underwent significant alterations as a result of damage in 564 and 740, was generally determined by the original plan of 532.

Architecture I. x. as traditional. the domed basilica represented an important, but not the main direction of church construction under imp. Justinians; the best achievements of that time were associated with the development of grandiose domed churches - St. Sergius and Bacchus and St. Sophia in the K-field, St. Vitalius in Ravenna (527-548). Hagia Sophia is also a domed basilica, but it has traditions. the type of building received a completely new, bold interpretation, the typological framework was actually overcome. Domed basilicas spread in Byzantium in the 5th century. (in Meriamlyk (474-491) and Alahan, both - Turkey) and became one of the leading architectural types during the imp. Justinian: Church of St. Sergius in Gaza (before 536, Palestine), "basilica B" in Philippi (before 540, Greece), the church of St. app. John the Theologian in Ephesus (completed by 565, Turkey), the church in Kasr-Ibn-Vardan (middle of the 6th century, Syria), etc. They were built mainly not in the capital, and this type probably developed in Asia Minor or somewhere else in the Middle. East.

In I. x. there are a number of features that indicate an orientation towards previous basilicas. Many are repeated here. details of the Polish Studian Basilica (463): a multifaceted apse with a syntron, U-shaped galleries above the naos and narthex, numerous entrances from the atrium to the narthex. True, the most archaic parts (for example, the entablature over the colonnades) are not repeated. When comparing I. x. with 5th century basilicas. It is impossible not to note the important changes that have taken place over the century in construction technology and in the style of decoration of temples. The heavy masonry was replaced with brick or mixed masonry, which made it possible to significantly reduce the volume of supports and the thickness of the walls and increase the area of ​​windows. Only the galleries of temples rest on the columns, and brick or stone supports become the main load-bearing elements. The fashion for details changes noticeably. Gradually, the classical order is being eliminated. Corinthian capital, edges in the 5th century. was still popular and received the richest development, being replaced by a square impost. It is sometimes covered with a dense net of acanthus leaves, but more often it is left unsculpted. The Ionic capital, which has already merged with the impost block, is becoming more and more simplified and losing its characteristic Greco-Roman features, turning into a pseudo-Ionic one - these are the capitals that are present in I. x. The horizontal entablature is last seen in the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus; in I. x. everywhere, even in the atrium, arcades are used. The number of churches with mosaic floor decoration is sharply reduced, which is being replaced by geometric compositions of marble facings or facings using the opus sectile technique. Decoration and structural details I. x. made in accordance with these universal trends for the whole era.

Construction I. x. gave the traditional domed basilica a new, official status. It became an integral part of the architectural style of the capital, which led to the spread of various variants of this type of temples and, moreover, to the reconstruction of classical basilica buildings into domed basilicas (for example, the basilica near Pirdop, Bulgaria, late 6th century).

Lit .: Belyaev D.F. Church of St. Irene and the earthquake in the K-field on June 28, 1894 // VV. 1894. T. 1. S. 769-798; he. External and internal view of the church of St. Irene in the K-field // Ibid. 1895. Vol. 2. S. 177-183; Van Millingen A. Byzantine Churches in Constantinople: Their History and Architecture. L., 1912. P. 84-105; Ebersolt J., Theirs A. Les eglises de Constantinople. P., 1913. P. 55-72; George W. S. The Church of St. Eirene at Constatinople. L., 1913; Dirimtekin F. Les fouilles faites en 1946-1947 et en 1958-1960 entre St. Sophie et St. Irene a Istanbul // Cah. Arch. 1962 Vol. 13. P. 161-185; Grossmann P. Zum Atrium der Irenenkirche in Istanbul // IstMitt. 1965. Bd. 15. S. 186-207; Janin. Les eglises et monasteres. P. 103-106; Mathews Th. F. The Early Churches of Constantinople: Architecture and Liturgy. Univ. Park (Pen.), 1971; idem. The Byzantine Churches of Istanbul: A Photographic Survey. Univ. Park (Pen.), 1976; Strube C. Die westliche Eingangsseite der Kirchen von Konstantinopel in justinianischer Zeit. Wiesbaden, 1973, pp. 106-117; Müller-Wiener W. Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls. Tüb., 1977. S. 112-117; Peschlow U. Die Irenenkirche in Istanbul. Tube., 1977; Krautheimer R., Ć ur č i ć S. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. New Haven; L., 1986 4; Mango C. A. Byzantine Architecture. L., 1986; Komech A. I. Old Russian architecture of the end. X - early XII century: Byzantium. heritage and the formation of an independent tradition. M., 1987; Krautheimer R. Three Christs. Capitals: Topography and Politics / Per. from German: L. A. Belyaev. M., 2000; Kirimtayif S. Converted Byzantine Churches in Istanbul. Istanbul, 2001; Ousterhout R. Byzantine builders / Transl.: L. A. Belyaev. K., 2004.

S. V. Tarkhanova

Church of St. Irene only now called a church. And once it really served as a temple. Moreover, it was the oldest temple in Constantinople.
Church of St. Irene It was built during the reign of Emperor Constantine, around the 4th century AD.
He obliged his subjects to accept Christianity. Although before that there was an ancient pagan temple. It was destroyed and a Christian basilica was built. Thus Church of Saint Irene was the main church of the city before the appearance of the Hagia Sophia.

Almost all churches during the Ottoman period were rebuilt into mosques. Strange,
that Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror ordered that the Istanbul temple of St. Irene be left alone, and for a long time Christian services were held here. But when they began to build the Topkapi Palace, the question arose: is it possible to leave a Christian church on the territory of the Sultan's palace? And yet they did not begin to remake it into a mosque. Just church Saint Irene used to store weapons. In the 19th century, the building was turned into a museum, and now concerts of classical orchestras are held here.

It has unique acoustics. It's all about the special architecture, thanks to which the audibility in the temple is such that even a whisper is heard everywhere.

IN Church of Saint Irene various exhibitions and other cultural events of the city also take place.

Find Church of Saint Irene very easy. If you enter the territory of Topkapı Palace through the main gate, you will immediately see it on the left.

The church can be visited from 9:00 to 17:00.
Tuesday is a day off.
The ticket price is 20 Turkish lira.

5 comments

Good time of the day!
Tell me, please, in order to get into this church, in addition to 20 lira, you also need to pay for the entrance to the territory of the Topkapi Palace? Or is it possible to visit this church separately?
Thanks in advance for your reply.