Church of St. Mary of Blachernae

The Church viewed from north.

Saint Mary of Blachernae (full name in Greek: Θεοτòκος τών Βλαχερνών (pr. Theotókos tón Blachernón; Turkish name: Meryem Ana Kilisesi)) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul. The little edifice, built in 1867, got the same dedication as the shrine erected in this place in the fifth century which, until its destruction in 1434, was one of the most important sanctuaries of the Greek Orthodoxy.

Location

The building lies church in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih, in the neighbourhood of Ayvansaray. It lies a few hundred meters inside the walled city, at a short distance from the shore of the Golden Horn.

History

In 450 Empress Aelia Pulcheria started to build a church near a fountain of holy water (Greek:"Haghiasma") situated outside the walls at the foot of the sixth hill of Constantinople. After her death, occurred in 453, the shrine was completed by her husband, Emperor Marcianus.

Emperor Leo I erected near the church two other buildings: a Parekklesion, named Haghia Soros ("holy reliquary"), since it hosted the holy mantle and robe of the Virgin brought from Palestine in 473, and the Haghion Lousma ("sacred bath") edifice, which enclosed the fountain.

The importance assumed by the whole complex encouraged the Emperors to lodge in the surroundings and to build there the nucleus of what would have later become the imperial palace of Blachernae. During the first quarter of the sixth century Emperors Justin I and Justinian restored and enlarged the church.

Saint Mary hosted a famous Icon of the Virgin which, after the church, was named Blachernitissa. This Icon and the relics of the Virgin keptin the parekklesion, were considered by the Byzantines as most powerful talismans, useful during a war or in case of natural disasters. The first proof of the power of these objects came in 626. During that year Constantinople was besieged by an avarian and a persian army, while Emperor Heraclius was away, fighting the Persians in the east of the Empire. The son of the Emperor, Constantine, together with Patriarch Sergius and Patrician Bonus carried in procession along the ramparts the icon of the Blachernitissa. Some time later the fleet of the Avars was destroyed. The Khan of the Avars told that he had been frightened by the vision of a young woman adorned with jewels scouring the walls. Although at that time the church still lied outside the walls, after the end of the siege it was noticed that the building was the only one that had not been plundered by the invaders. When the victorious Heraclius came back to Constantinople bringing back the True Cross which had been stolen by the Persians in Jerusalem, the Patriarch received him at Saint Mary. Sometime later, the Emperor let build a rampart to protect the church, adding to the city the quarter of Blachernae.

Map of Constantinople around 1420, after Cristoforo Buondelmonti. The District of Blachernae can be seen on the center left part of the map, surrounded on two sides by the walls of the City, below the Golden Horn.

The protection of the Virgin of the Blachernae was also decisive for the City in 717, during the Arab siege, and in 864, during the invasion of the Rus'. In this occasion, the veil of the Virgin (maphorion), which by that time had joined the other relics in the church, was shortly plunged in the sea to invoke the protection of God on the fleet. Some days later the Russian fleet was destroyed. In 926 too, during the war against Simeon of Bulgaria, the use of the relics of the Virgin proved decisive to convince the Zar of the Bulgarians to handle with the Byzantines.

The church played also an important role in the religious fights of the Byzantines. During the Iconoclastic period, the final session of the Council of Hieria took place in the church. On that occasion the cult of the images was condemned. As a consequence of that decision, Emperor Constantine V let destroy the mosaics of the interior and substitute them with others representing natural scenes with trees, birds and animals. On that occasion the Icon of the Blachernitissa was also hidden under a layer of silvery mortar. In 843, at the end of Iconoclasm, the Feast of Orthodoxy was celebrated for the first time in the church of Blachernae with an Agrypnia ("holy Vigil"), which occurred on the first Sunday of Lent. The Blachernitissa was discovered again during restoration works executed during the reign of Romanus III Argyros, and became again one of the most venerated Icons of Constantinople. According to Anna Comnena, the so called habitual miracle ((Greek:"to synetés thauma") occurred in the church before the Icon of the Virgin Blachernitissa. On Friday after sunset, when the church was empty, the veil which covered the icon moved up slowly, revealing the face of the virgin, while 24 hours later it fell again slowly. Anyway, the miracle did not occur regularly, and ceased completely after the Latin conquest of the City.

The Church of Saint Mary was completely destroyed during a fire occurred in 1070, and was rebuilt by Romanos IV Diogenes und Michael VII Doukas respecting the old plan. After the Latin invasion of 1204, the church was occupied by the Latin clergy and put directly under the Holy See. Anyway, already before the end of the Latin Empire John III Doukas Vatatzes redeemed the church. On February 29, 1434, some noble children who were hunting pigeons on the roof of the church accidentally started a fire which destroyed the whole complex and the surrounding quarter. The destruction of the church accelerated the decay of the neighbouring imperial Palace, so that its use as residence from the Ottoman Sultans after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 was out of question. Afterwards, the ground where the church once stood fell in ottoman hands. In 1867 the Guild of the orthodox furriers bought the parcel around the holy fountain, and let build there a small church.

Description

The religious complex of Blachernae comprised three edifices: The Church of Saint Mary, the Chapel of the reliquary (Haghia Soros), and the Bath (Haghia Lousma).

The church proper, defined by all the sources as "large" (megas naos), was of Basilica type, with the space divided into three aisles by two colonnades. This plan is similar to that of other churches of the early type in Constantinople as St. John of Stoudios. It had a rectangular plan with sides of 96 m and 36 m. Justinian apparently let surmount the church with a dome, since Procopius, in his work "De Edificiis", writes that both colonnades bent in the middle of the nave describing a semicircle. Emperor Justin II added the two side arms, giving to the plan the appearance of a cross. The reconstruction of 1070 possibly respected this plan. The Spanish ambassador Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, who visited Constantinople in 1402, writes that the building was divided into three aisles, with the central higher than the flanking ones. The columns were made of green Jasper, while the capitals and the bases were gilded and carved in white marble. The church by that time had no dome anymore, but a multicoloured compartmented ceiling decorated with golden garlands. The walls were covered with coloured marble panels. Near the middle of the nave there was a silver Ambon, while at the end lied a rich Iconostasis surrounded by sculptures. On the upper part of the walls there were mosaics representing the miracles of Christ and several episodes of his life up to his Ascension. To the church belonged also tribunes and an oratory. The shrine communicated through a Porticus and a stairway with the imperial Palace of Blachernae, which – lying on the slope of the hill - overlooked it.

On the right of the church lied the parekklesion (named in Greek "Hagia Soros" meaning the "holy reliquary"), which contained the dress and robe of the Virgin. The veil and a part of her belt were later also kept there. The building was round and had a narthex and tribunes. There was also worshipped an Icon of the Virgin donated by Emperor Leo I and his wife Verina. On its right was kept the casket - adorned with gold and silver - which contained the relics. They were rescued during the Latin occupation, and after the restoration of the Empire were kept in the church. They were all destroyed during the fire of 1434.

The bath where the Emperor immerged himself comprised three parts: the robbing room where he undressed, the kolymbos (pool for immersion) and the hall of Saint Photinos. It lied right of the parekklesion, and communicated with it through a door. The pool consisted of a large room surmounted by a dome with the basin in the middle. It was adorned with icons, and the water poured in the basin from the hands of a marble statue of the Virgin. An Image of Saint Photinos decorated the centre of the dome. Each year, on August 15th, after the adoration of the Maphorion (holy veil) of the Virgin, the Emperor plunged three times in the sacred pool.

The small church which today encloses the Hagiasma has a trapezoidal plan with sloping roof, and is adorned with icons and frescoes. It is oriented in south-north direction. The holy fountain, which is believed to have healing powers, is always a favourite destination for orthodox and muslim pilgrims, who pour in the pool coins and hair pins. Since the surrounding ground is not built, would be possible in the future to explore it in order to understand more about the ancient complex.

References

• Mamboury, Ernest (1953). The Tourists' Istanbul. Istanbul: Çituri Biraderler Basımevi.

• Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères. Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines.

• Müller-Wiener, Wolfgang (1977). Bildlexikon Zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul Bis Zum Beginn D. 17 Jh. Tübingen: Wasmuth. ISBN 9783803010223.

External links

• Byzantium 1200 | The complex of Blachernae