The Church of Christ Pantocrator in Istanbul is also often referred to as the Church of Christ in the Fields or the Church of Chora. The word "Chora" means "outside the city" in Greek, which directly indicates the location of this temple. The Church of Chora, due to its beautiful frescoes and mosaics, is considered one of the most beautiful Byzantine churches that have survived to our time.
The Church of Christ the Saviour is located in Istanbul's Edirnekapı district, which in turn is located in the western part of Fatih municipality. This gem of late Byzantine mosaic art is surrounded by old Ottoman wooden houses.
The fate of the Church of Christ Pantocrator is rather unusual. Built as a Christian church, it became a mosque in the 16th century, welcomed the faithful to pray for 4 centuries, and then in 1948 it was secularised, i.e. turned into a secular place. A very popular museum was organised in it, which topped the list of Istanbul's most interesting sights, along with Hagia Sophia Cathedral and Cisterna Basilica.
Unfortunately, in 2020, the Christian temple, like Hagia Sophia Cathedral, became a mosque again. This means that all the frescoes, which many art historians called the most significant works of Christian art, were inaccessible to tourists. But these murals are not destroyed, but still preserved for posterity.
Early historical period
Photo: Fossa Source: Wikipedia
Historians believe that the first monastery of Chora appeared on the site of the current church of the same name in the 4th century. Then the building was built outside the fortress walls of Constantinople, which were erected under Constantine the Great, ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
In the era of Emperor Theodosius II, the fortifications around the city were extended to the west, so the monastery, located south of the Golden Horn Bay, became part of Constantinople, but did not change its name. It was still called "Chora".
The place where the monastery of Chora was erected was not chosen by chance. There were rumours that there was a necropolis where the martyr Babyla of Antioch was buried. However, there is information that his relics were kept in Antioch, not in Constantinople. It is believed that the fact with the necropolis was invented later, to give more sanctity to the place where the church of Chora was built.
The first monastery was destroyed by an earthquake in the middle of the 6th century. Therefore, in 558, by decree of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the monastery of Chora was rebuilt.
Further mention of the monastery and the church of Christ Pantocrator is found in documents of the VIII century, which tell about the burial on the monastery territory of the patriarch of Constantinople Germanus I.
During the iconoclastic period, the temple of Chora suffered greatly and almost turned into ruins. It was rebuilt and even enlarged by the erection of three new chapels.
For a couple of centuries chroniclers forget about the church of Chora and remember only in connection with patrons of the arts who invested serious funds in maintaining the religious complex at the proper level. We are talking about representatives of the dynasty of the Komneni in power in the Byzantine Empire.
In the 11 century, the importance of the Church of Chora increases significantly because of its location. The fact is that the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus moves from the Great Palace of Constantinople to a palace in Edirnekapi. This residence is now called Tekfur. It is located near the Church of Christ Pantocrator, so the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, or rather, his mother-in-law Maria Duca engaged in the restoration of the ancient monastery. The church on the place of the ancient religious complex appeared in 1077-1081. The temple was dedicated to Christ the Saviour, who was always honoured by the Komnin dynasty. Next to the fresco of Our Lady and Jesus there is also an image of Maria Duca, so modern researchers of frescoes of the Byzantine era can look at the portrait of this historical figure.
Half a century after the restoration of the temple by Maria Duca, for some unknown reason the sacred building again required major repairs. Isaac Comnenus, the youngest son of Byzantine Emperor Alexius I, carried it out in 1120.
Maecenas Theodore Metochitus
The Church of Chora suffered severely during the Crusader rule of 1204-1261. When Constantinople was once again under Palaiologos rule, Emperor Michael VIII chose as his residence the already mentioned Blachernae Palace, also called Tekfur Palace. Now this palace, the jewel of Constantinople, is in a dilapidated state.
Byzantium of that period needed significant temples, so the Church of Chora was decided to be restored. It was to symbolise a new period in art, which would later be called the Palaeologic Renaissance.
The renovation of the temple was entrusted to Theodore Metochitus, a loyal servant of the Palaiologi. He held one of the highest positions under the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II. Theodore Metohit was treasurer of emperor, his adviser and friend. A brilliantly educated man, he realised the importance of peaceful co-existence between Catholics and Orthodox and everywhere promoted this idea.
Byzantium was an amazing country. Here patronage of the arts was encouraged in every possible way. It was believed that aristocrats, taking under their patronage some church, doing God-pleasing deeds, take care of the future of their souls. Therefore Theodore Metochitus began to invest his own funds in the revival of the temple of Chora.
However, times were not easy. If about the Byzantium of the 11-12 centuries it could be said that it was experiencing a revival, in the 14 century the Palaiologi expected a state in a state of economic crisis. Construction of new secular and religious buildings practically stopped. Even rich people tried not to erect new churches, but to enlarge the old ones. Theodore Metochitus did the same. He added to the already existing temple of Chora an outer narthex and a paraklesion, i.e. a side chapel. The interiors of the new buildings acquired luxurious frescoes and mosaics. Paintings on the walls and vaults of the temple were made between 1305-1320. In 1321, the decoration of the temple was fully completed.
We know the following about the work of the masters of that time:
- the names of the artists have not been preserved by history, but the high quality of the mosaics, among which was the famous "Healing of many different sick people by Jesus", indicates that the temple was occupied by masters from the capital;
- the narthex is not the most spacious room of the temple, so artists had to work in a limited space;
- mosaics appeared on parts of walls, arched spans, lunettes and in domes;
- the subjects of frescoes and mosaics were recognisable and traditional for the churches of the time: scenes from the life of the Mother of God and Jesus Christ were found here;
- art historians who have studied the mosaics here have concluded that the masters illustrated both official and apocryphal sources.
When the rebirth of the Temple of Chora took place, Theodore Metochitus realised that he would always have an additional sanctuary. The Maecenas presented the church with an extensive library and made sure to have a room of his own attached to the temple.
When Emperor Andronicus II abdicated, Theodore Metochitus fell into disgrace. He was ordered to leave Constantinople, but after some time he was allowed to return back, but was deprived of his property. Therefore he settled at the church of Chora and lived there for 2 years until his death. He was buried there, in the tomb of the temple.
Ottoman period
Byzantium ended its existence in 1453. In that year, Constantinople fell on 23 May, surrendering to the army of Sultan Mehmed. The Ottomans did not destroy the conquered Christian churches, but remodelled them into mosques. Such a fate awaited the church of Chora. By the way, Christian services were held in it during 58 years after the conquest of Constantinople. Only in 1511 the temple of Chora turned into the mosque Karie.
The mosaics and frescoes depicting people were hidden under a layer of plaster. This saved the precious images for posterity.
Mosaics and frescoes depicting people were hidden under a layer of plaster.
The Kariye Mosque received a minaret instead of the existing bell tower. A marble mihrab appeared in the south-eastern corner of the temple. From the XVI century to the first half of the XX century there was a madrasah next to the mosque. Several times the Kariye mosque was repaired, destroying the damage caused by earthquakes.
In 1945, Istanbul received a new museum, which was opened in the former Kariye Mosque. For 10 years, restorers peeled away layers of plaster from the valuable frescoes and mosaics. The "Anastasis" and "Jesus' Healing of the Many Sick" and many other mosaics were opened to the public.
Current state of the temple
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which operated as the Karie Museum for just over half a century, was under UNESCO protection. So in 2019, the entire civilised world was surprised by the decision of the Istanbul authorities to return the building to the status of a mosque.
Turks at the state level recognised the 1945 decree to convert the Kariye Mosque into a museum as invalid. In 2020, the former monastery of Chora became a mosque again. All the frescoes were hidden from the eyes of devout Muslims, who are not allowed by their religion to depict people.
At first, authorities in Istanbul said that tourists would still be able to visit the new mosque in the same way outside of prayer hours, but this is not the case. Travel bloggers have noted that the frescoes and mosaics of the Christ Pantocrator Shrine in Chora are no longer accessible.
Features of the temple
Photo: Takeaway Source: wikipedia
The Temple of Christ Pantocrator is not as large as other Byzantine churches in Istanbul - it is only 742.5 metres square. But it outshines all other churches by the beauty of its interior decoration.
The Chora Temple consists of 3 main parts:
- the narthex (narthex), divided into 2 corridors that follow each other (the walls of the outer narthex are decorated with mosaics depicting scenes from the life of Christ, and the inner one - from the life of Our Lady and the lives of the saints);
- the main nave (naos), which is decorated with three domes, the largest of which has a diameter of 7.7 metres (in them you can also see mosaics depicting characters from the Gospels);
- side chapels (paraklesia), one of which, the one on the right side, served as an imperial tomb; its 4.5 metre diameter dome also has stunning frescoes..
Mosaics and murals
The main treasure of the Temple of Chora is the mosaics and frescoes from Byzantine times.
The mosaics and frescoes of the Church of Christ the Saviour are in relatively good condition. They were discovered in the early 20th century and marked a turning point in the understanding of the art of the Paleologoi era. The mosaics have not lost their brightness and colourfulness over time. The figures of the saints are depicted against the background of natural and urban landscapes, which allows you to learn more about that era.
The church has some amazing mosaics. Above the door to the narthex is a depiction of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary - koimesis, as the Greeks called the event. On the mosaic, the apostles are gathered around the reclining Virgin Mary. The centrepiece is a depiction of Jesus Christ coming for his mother.
Above the passage from the narthex to the naos there is another interesting fresco where one can see Jesus Christ accepting from the hands of the patron Theodore Metohit the model of the church of Chora.
Other mosaics and frescoes in the church to look out for:
- On the vaults of the narthex, look for mosaic drawings of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, including Adam;
- under the dome of the narthex there are interesting mosaics "Jesus' healing of many different sick people", which illustrate scenes from the Gospels - the healing of the blind man, the mute, Peter's mother-in-law, the bleeding woman, the leper, the dry-armed man;
- the narthex is also decorated with a rare depiction of the "First Steps of the Virgin Mary";
- on the wall of the narthex you can see the Deesis scene, which, contrary to tradition, does not depict John the Baptist (it is one of the largest mosaics of the Temple of Chora);
- here you should also look for the image of Christ Pantocrator blessing the faithful;
- in a small chapel used as a tomb for members of the Byzantine imperial family, one of the most beautiful frescoes in the world can be found, which is called "Anastasis", i.e. "Resurrection from the Dead".
The attentive viewer will also see a few secular faces among the religious characters. For example, the Deesis mosaic depicts the son of the Byzantine Emperor Isaac Porphyrogenitus Komnenos near the Virgin Mary, and the Mongol Queen Melania in the guise of a nun near Christ.
