The Church of Saint Mary of Blachernae (full name in
Greek
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**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Θεοτόκος των Βλαχερνών (pr. ''Theotókos ton Vlachernón'');
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
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name: ''Meryem Ana Kilisesi'') is an
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
church in Mustafa Paşa Bostanı Sokak in
Ayvansaray
Ayvansaray is a picturesque neighbourhood on the Golden Horn in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, between Balat and Eyüp. It lies inside what was the walled city on Constantinople and later of İstanbul and corresponds to the old quarter ...
in the
Fatih
Fatih () is a district of and a municipality (''belediye'') in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office) but not the co ...
district of
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, just inside the old
walled city. During the latter part of the Byzantine period and until its destruction in 1434 it was one of the most important sanctuaries of
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
, arguably outstripping
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
in importance due to its proximity to the
Palace of the Blachernae. Today it is protected by a high wall, and fronted by a garden.
History
![To agiasma ton vlahernon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/To_agiasma_ton_vlahernon.JPG)
In 450,
Empress
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Aelia Pulcheria
Aelia Pulcheria (; grc-gre, Πουλχερία; 19 January 398 or 399 – July 453) was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her ...
began to construct a church near an ''ayazma'' or
holy water
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
spring situated outside the
walls of Theodosius II at the foot of the sixth hill of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. After her death in 453, the shrine was completed by her husband, Emperor
Marcian
Marcian (; la, Marcianus, link=no; grc-gre, Μαρκιανός, link=no ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he was a (personal as ...
.
[Janin (1953), p. 169.]
Emperor
Leo I
The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications.
The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...
erected two other buildings near the church: a
parekklesion
Parecclesion or parakklesion ( el, παρεκκλήσιον 'chapel') is a type of side chapel found in Byzantine architecture.
Examples of existing parecclesions:
* Chora Church
* Pammakaristos Church
The Pammakaristos Church, also known as ...
, named ''Ayía Sorós'' (holy reliquary) because it hosted the holy mantle and robe of the Virgin brought from
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
in 473, and the ''´Ayion Loúsma'' (sacred bath) building, which enclosed the spring.
[
During the first quarter of the 6th century, Emperors ]Justin I
Justin I ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, ''Ioustînos''; 450 – 1 August 527) was the Eastern Roman emperor from 518 to 527. Born to a peasant family, he rose through the ranks of the army to become commander of the imperial ...
and Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
restored and enlarged the church.
The growing importance of the complex encouraged the Emperors to move to the surrounding area and start building what would become the imperial Palace of Blachernae
The Palace of Blachernae ( el, ). was an imperial Byzantine residence in the suburb of Blachernae, located in the northwestern section of Constantinople (today located in the quarter of Ayvansaray in Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey). The area of the pala ...
.[Müller-Wiener (1977).] The Blachernae name may derive from an old term used for the Romanians (Vlach, Blac, etc.) and from a small colony of Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...
.[Gherghel (1920), p. 4.]
The church contained a famous icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
of the Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
, the '' Vlachernítissa'', named after the church. It was painted on wood and decorated with gold and silver. The Byzantines considered this icon and the relics
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
of the Virgin kept in the parekklesion to be extremely powerful at a time of war or natural disaster. The first proof of their power came in 626 when Constantinople was besieged
Besieged may refer to:
* the state of being under siege
* ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci
{{disambiguation ...
by the combined armies of the Avars and the Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
at a time when Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
was away fighting the Persians in Mesopotamia. His son Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
, the Patriarch Sergius and Patrician Bonus carried the icon along the ramparts and shortly afterwards the Avar army was destroyed.[Janin (1953), p. 170.] The Khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
of the Avars said afterwards that he had been frightened by the vision of a jewel-bedecked woman walking along the walls.
At the end of the siege, the Byzantines learned that the church (which at that time lay outside the Walls) was the only one not to have been plundered by the invaders. When the victorious Heraclius returned to Constantinople, bringing back the True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
which had been captured by the Persians in Jerusalem, the Patriarch received him at Saint Mary's. Sometime later, the Emperor built a single wall to protect the church, thus enclosing the suburb of Blachernae within the city.[Müller-Wiener (1977).]
The Byzantine victory during the Arab siege of 717-718 was also credited to the protection of the Virgin Vlachernitissa, as was the Byzantine victory against the invasion of the Rus in 860. On the latter occasion, the Veil of the Virgin (''mafórion''), which had joined the other relics in the church, was plunged into the sea to invoke God's protection for the fleet. In 926 during the war against Simeon of Bulgaria the potency of the relics of the Virgin also helped convince the Bulgarian Tsar to negotiate with the Byzantines rather than assault the city.[Janin (1953), p. 171.]
On 15 August 944 the church received two more important relics: the letter written by King Abgar V of Edessa
Abgar V (c. 1st century BC - c. AD 50), called Ukkāmā (meaning "the Black" in Syriac and other dialects of Aramaic),, syr, ܐܒܓܪ ܚܡܝܫܝܐ ܐܘܟܡܐ, ʾAḇgar Ḥmīšāyā ʾUkkāmā, hy, Աբգար Ե Եդեսացի, Abgar Hingeror ...
to Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and the Mandylion
According to Christian tradition, the Image of Edessa was a holy relic consisting of a square or rectangle of cloth upon which a miraculous image of the face of Jesus had been imprinted—the first icon ("image"). The image is also known as the M ...
. Both were subsequently moved to the Church of the Virgin of the Pharos
The Church of the Virgin of the Pharos ( el, Θεοτόκος τοῦ Φάρου, ''Theotokos tou Pharou'') was a Byzantine chapel built in the southern part of the Great Palace of Constantinople, and named after the tower of the lighthouse (''pha ...
.[Janin (1953), p. 172.]
As a centre for the veneration of images, the Church of St Mary also played an important role in Byzantine religious disputes. During the Iconoclastic period, the final session of the Council of Hieria
The iconoclast Council of Hieria was a Christian council of 754 which viewed itself as ecumenical, but was later rejected by the Second Council of Nicaea (787) and by Catholic and Orthodox churches, since none of the five major patriarchs were r ...
, at which the cult of the images was condemned, took place in the church.[ As a consequence of that decision, Emperor ]Constantine V
Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...
ordered its figurative mosaics
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
to be destroyed, and replaced them with others representing natural scenes with trees, birds and animals.[Janin (1953), p. 175.] On that occasion the Icon of the Blachernitissa was hidden under a layer of silvery mortar.[ In 843, with the end of Iconoclasm, the ]Feast of Orthodoxy
The Feast of Orthodoxy (or Sunday of Orthodoxy or Triumph of Orthodoxy) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and other churches using the Byzantine Rite to commemorate, originally, only the final defeat ...
was celebrated for the first time in the church of Blachernae with an ''Agrypnía'' ("holy Vigil
A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...
"), which occurred on the first Sunday of Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
.[
The Blachernitissa was discovered again during restoration works executed during the reign of ]Romanos III Argyros
Romanos III Argyros ( el, Ρωμανός Αργυρός; Latinized Romanus III Argyrus; 968 – 11 April 1034), or Argyropoulos was Byzantine Emperor from 1028 until his death. He was a Byzantine noble and senior official in Constantinople whe ...
in the early 11th century and once again became one of Constantinople's most venerated icons. The Church of Saint Mary was completely destroyed during a fire in 1070, but was rebuilt by Romanos IV Diogenes and Michael VII Doukas
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...
to the same plan.[
According to ]Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...
, the Icon of the Virgin Vlachernitissa in the church underwent what became known as the "habitual miracle" ( el, to synetís thavma).[Janin (1953), p. 174.] On Friday after sunset, when the church was empty, the veil which covered the icon slowly rose, revealing the face of the Virgin, while twenty-four hours later it slowly fell again. The miracle did not occur regularly, and ceased completely after the Latin conquest of the city.[
After the Latin invasion of 1204, the church was occupied by the Latin clergy and placed directly under the ]Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
. Before the end of the Latin Empire
The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzanti ...
, John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes ( el, Ιωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, ''Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs'', c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known ...
redeemed the church and many monasteries for the Orthodox clergy in exchange for money.[Janin (1953), p. 172.]
On 29 June 1434, some noble children hunting pigeons on the roof of the church accidentally started a fire, which destroyed the whole complex and the surrounding quarter.[ The area was largely neglected during the ]Ottoman period
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. In 1867, the Guild of Orthodox Furrier
Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific i ...
s bought the parcel of land around the holy spring, and built a new small church there.
Description
The religious complex of Blachernae comprised three buildings: The Church of Saint Mary, the Chapel of the reliquary (''Ayía Sorós''), and the Sacred Bath (''´Ayion Loúsma'').[
The church proper, defined by all the sources as "large" (''mégas naós''), was of the ]basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
type, with the space divided into three aisles by two colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
s, like other churches of the early type in Constantinople such as St. John of Stoudios. It had a rectangular plan with sides of and .[Janin (1953), p. 175.] Justinian appears to have added a dome to the church, since Procopius, in his work ''De Edificiis'', says that both colonnades curved in the middle of the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
to describe a semicircle.[ Emperor ]Justin II
Justin II ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, Ioustînos; died 5 October 578) or Justin the Younger ( la, Iustinus minor) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 565 until 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I and the husband of Sophia, the ...
added the two side arms, giving the ground plan the appearance of a cross. The reconstruction of 1070 may have followed this plan. The Spanish ambassador Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo Ruy may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment
*Ruy, the Little Cid, Spanish animated television series
*Ruy Blas, a character in the eponymous tragic drama by Victor Hugo
People
*another form of Rui, a Portuguese male given name
*another form of the S ...
, who visited Constantinople in 1402, wrote that the building was divided into three aisles, with the central one higher than the flanking ones. The columns were made of green jasper, while the capitals and the bases of the columns were gilded and carved in white marble.[Janin (1953), p. 175.] By that time the church no longer had a dome, but instead a multicoloured compartmented ceiling, decorated with golden garlands.[
]
The walls at that time were covered with coloured marble panels, while originally a silvery mortar was used.[ Near the middle of the nave there was a silver ]ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
, while at the end stood a rich iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...
covered in images.[ The upper walls were decorated with mosaics representing the miracles of Christ and episodes of his life up to his Ascension.][ The church also had tribunes and an oratory. The Imperial Palace of Blachernae - lying further up the slope of the hill - overlooked the church and was connected to it through a ]porticus
A porticus, in church architecture and archaeology, is usually a small room in a church. Commonly, porticus form extensions to the north and south sides of a church, giving the building a cruciform plan. They may function as chapels, rudimentary ...
and a stairway.[Janin (1953), p. 176.]
To the right of the church stood the circular ''parekklísion'' of the ''Ayía Sorós'', which contained the dress and robe of the Virgin. The veil and a part of her belt (now at Vatopedi monastery
The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi ( el, Βατοπέδι, ) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, Greece. The monastery was expanded several times during its history, particularly during the Byzantine period and in the 18th an ...
on Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
), were also kept there later. The building had a narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
and tribunes.[ An icon of the Virgin donated by Emperor Leo I and his wife ]Verina
Aelia Verina (Greek: Βερίνα, died 484) was the Empress consort of Leo I of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a sister of Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne was Empress consort of first Zeno and then Anastasius I. Verina was the maternal gran ...
was also worshipped there. On its right was kept the casket, adorned with gold and silver, which contained the relics.[ They were rescued from the Latin occupiers in 1204, and kept in the church after the restoration of the Empire, only to be destroyed during the fire of 1434.][A pious legend says that the Blachernitissa survived the disaster, and that after 1453 it was brought to a monastery on ]Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
and finally to Moscow.
To the right of the parekklesion and connected to it by a door was the ''bath'' where the Emperor immersed himself. It was made up of three parts: the robing room where he undressed, the ''kólymbos'' (pool for immersion) and the hall of Saint Photinos. Adorned with icons, the ''kolymbos'' consisted of a large room surmounted by a dome with the pool in the middle; water flowed into the pool from the hands of a marble statue of the Virgin. An image of Saint Photinos decorated the centre of the dome.[Mamboury (1953), p. 308.] Each year, on August 15 (the feast of the Dormition
The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...
), after the adoration of the ''Mafórion'' (holy veil) of the Virgin, the Emperor plunged three times into this sacred pool.[
The small church which today encloses the ''ayazma'' (holy spring) has a trapezoidal plan with a sloping roof, and is adorned with modern icons and frescoes. It is oriented in a northwest-southeast direction. The holy spring, which is believed to have healing powers, is still a popular destination for Orthodox and Muslim pilgrims, who toss coins and hairpins into the pool.][ Pilgrims can also ritually wash their eyes at a line of taps.][Ronchey (2010), p. 715] Above them a modern palindrome
A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as the words ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date and time ''11/11/11 11:11,'' and the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Panam ...
inscription says: " ''Nípson anomímata mi mónan ópsin''" (Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: "Wash the sins not only the eyes").[ The water cascades into an underground gallery, which, according to tradition, links this ''ayazma'' with the one in Balıklı on the other side of the city.]
The church is run by an episkopos
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
and two papades.[Ronchey (2010), p. 714] Every Friday morning the Akathist
An Akathist Hymn ( el, Ἀκάθιστος Ὕμνος, "unseated hymn") is a type of hymn usually recited by Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic Christians, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The name ...
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
, composed by Patriarch Sergius during the Siege of 626, is sung there.
Gallery
File:Saint Mary of Blachernae 8934.jpg, Saint Mary of Blachernae sacred bath
File:Saint Mary of Blachernae 8938.jpg, Saint Mary of Blachernae sacred bath
File:Saint Mary of Blachernae 8935.jpg, Saint Mary of Blachernae icon at sacred bath
File:Saint Mary of Blachernae 8940.jpg, Saint Mary of Blachernae exterior
File:Saint Mary of Blachernae 8930.jpg, Saint Mary of Blachernae iconostasis
References
Sources
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External links
Byzantium 1200 – The Complex of Blachernae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary of Blachernae (Istanbul), Church of St.
Byzantine sacred architecture
5th-century churches
Churches completed in 1867
19th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings
Fatih
Holy springs of Turkey
Greek Orthodox churches in Istanbul
Golden Horn
Greeks in Istanbul
Pulcheria