The Monastery of Stoudios, more fully Monastery of
Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" ( grc-gre, Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου εν τοις Στουδίου, Monē tou Hagiou Iōannē tou Prodromou en tois Stoudiou), often shortened to Stoudios, Studion or Stoudion ( la, Studium), was a
Greek Orthodox monastery in
Constantinople (modern-day
Istanbul), the capital of the
Byzantine Empire. The residents of the monastery were referred to as Stoudites (or Studites). Although the monastery has been derelict for half a millennium, the laws and customs of the Stoudion were taken as models by the
monks of
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 of many other monasteries of the Orthodox world; even today they have influence.
The ruins of the monastery are situated not far from the
Propontis
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
(Marmara Sea) in the section of Istanbul called
Psamathia, today's
Koca Mustafa Paşa. It was founded in 462 by the
consul Flavius Studius
Flavius Studius ( fl. 5th century) was a statesman of the Eastern Roman Empire.
He served as consul in 454 together with Flavius Aetius, and in 464 he was raised to the rank of '' patricius''.
He was a devout Christian and in 463 in Constantinop ...
, a Roman
patrician who had settled in Constantinople, and was
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
to
Saint John the Baptist. Its first monks came from the monastery of the
Acoemetae.
History
The Stoudites gave the first proof of their devotion to the Orthodox Faith during the
schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
of
Acacius (484–519); they also remained loyal during the storms of
iconoclastic dispute in the eighth and ninth centuries. They were driven from the monastery and the city by Emperor
Constantine V (r. 741–775); after his death however, some of them returned.
Hegumenos (abbot)
Sabas of Stoudios Sabas of Stoudios was an abbot of the Monastery of Stoudios who played a leading role at the Second Council of Nicaea (787 AD).
Biography
The Second Council of Nicaea met to restore the veneration of icons, which had been suppressed and banned by i ...
zealously defended the Orthodox
doctrines against the Iconoclasts at the
Second Ecumenical Council
The First Council of Constantinople ( la, Concilium Constantinopolitanum; grc-gre, Σύνοδος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 b ...
in
Nicaea (787). His successor was
Theodore the Studite to whom the monastery owes most of its fame, and who especially fostered academic and spiritual study. During St. Theodore's administration also the monks were harassed and driven away several times, some of them being put to death.
Theodore's pupil, Naukratios, re-established discipline after the Iconoclastic dispute had come to an end. Hegumenos Nicholas (848-845 and 855-858) refused to recognize the
Patriarch St. Photios and was on this account imprisoned in his own monastery. He was succeeded by five abbots who recognized the patriarch. The brilliant period of the Stoudios came to an end at this time.
In the middle of the eleventh century, during the administration of Abbot Simeon, a monk named
Niketas Stethatos
Niketas Stethatos ( el, , la, Nicetas Pectoratus; c. 1005 – c. 1090) was a Byzantine mystic and theologian who is considered a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was a follower of Symeon the New Theologian and wrote the most complete biog ...
, a disciple of
Symeon the New Theologian, criticized some customs of the
Latin Church in two books which he wrote on the use of
unleavened bread, the
Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
, and the
marriage of priests.
As regards the intellectual life of the monastery in other directions, it is especially celebrated for its famous school of
calligraphy
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
which was established by Theodore. The art of
manuscript illumination
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
was cultivated, with many brilliant products of the monastic scriptorium now residing in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
,
Vatican City, and
Moscow (e.g.,
Chludov Psalter
Chludov Psalter (russian: Хлудовская псалтырь; Moscow, Hist. Mus. MS. D.129) is an illuminated marginal Psalter made in the middle of the 9th Century. It is a unique monument of Byzantine art at the time of the Iconoclasm, one of ...
). The
Theodore Psalter
The ''Theodore Psalter'' is an illustrated manuscript and compilation of the ''Psalms'' and the canticles, or Odes from the ''Old Testament''. "This Psalter has been held in the British Library since 1853 as ''Additional 19.352''," wrote Princeton ...
, created at the monastery in the twelfth century is in the collection of the
British Library.
In the eighth and eleventh centuries, the monastery was the centre of Byzantine religious poetry; a number of the
hymns are still used in the Orthodox Church. Besides Theodore and Niketas, a number of other theological writers are known. Three of the Stoudite monks rose to become the
ecumenical patriarchs; and three emperors—
Michael V (r. 1041–1042),
Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078), and
Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos or Comnenus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός, ''Isaakios Komnēnos''; – 1 June 1060) was Byzantine emperor from 1057 to 1059, the first reigning member of the Komnenian dynasty.
The son of the gene ...
(r. 1057–1059)—took
monastic vows
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...
in the Stoudion.
In 1204, the monastery was destroyed by the
Crusaders and was not fully restored until 1290, by
Constantine Palaiologos
Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last Roman (Byzantine) e ...
. The Russian pilgrims Anthony (''c.'' 1200) and Stephen (''c.'' 1350) were amazed by the size of the monastic grounds. It is thought that the
cloister sheltered as many as 700 monks at the time. The greater part of the monastery was again destroyed when the
Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453.
Modern condition
The 5th-century monastery's church, which has the plan of a basilica, was converted by
Bayezid II
Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...
's equerry, Ilias Bey, into the mosque İmrahor Camii (literally, ''Mosque of the Equerry''). The ancient structure sustained grave damage from the great fire of 1782; the
1894 Istanbul earthquake
The 1894 Istanbul earthquake occurred in the Çınarcık Basin or Gulf of Izmit in the Sea of Marmara on 10 July at 12:24pm. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.0. At least an estimated 1,349 people were killed in towns around the Gul ...
also contributed to its ruin.
Following the 1894 earthquake, a group of Russian Byzantinist scholars led by
Fyodor Uspensky
Fyodor Ivanovich Uspensky or Uspenskij (russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Успе́нский ) was a Russian Empire and Soviet Byzantinist. His works are considered to be among the finest illustrations of the flowering of Byzantine studie ...
opened the Russian Archaeological Institute on the monastery grounds, but its activity was suppressed in the wake of the
Russian Revolution of 1917. During the subsequent decades the ruins of the monastery complex were looted by local inhabitants to repair their houses, while the magnificent 13th century pavement still lies open to elements "and disappears slowly but steadily".
In 2013 plans were announced that the church, currently a museum, was to be converted into a mosque after a restoration. As of 2022, the restoration of the building hasn't started.
See also
*
Degrees of Orthodox monasticism
*
History of Eastern Orthodox Christianity
*
Sabas of Stoudios Sabas of Stoudios was an abbot of the Monastery of Stoudios who played a leading role at the Second Council of Nicaea (787 AD).
Biography
The Second Council of Nicaea met to restore the veneration of icons, which had been suppressed and banned by i ...
Image:St._John_Stoudios_(Imrahor)_Monastery_in_Istanbul.jpg, Street view of the monastery
Image:Exterior_wall_of_St._John_Stoudios_(Imrahor)_Monastery_in_Istanbul.jpg, Exterior walls of the monastery
Image:One_of_the_exterior_facades_of_the_St._John_Stoudios_(Imrahor)_Monastery.jpg, The Apsis
References
Sources
*
Official Website of the Ecumenical Patriarch , Studius
External links
{{Authority control
Stoudios
The Monastery of Stoudios, more fully Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" ( grc-gre, Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου εν τοις Στουδίου, Monē tou Hagiou Iōannē tou Prodromou en to ...
Stoudios
The Monastery of Stoudios, more fully Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" ( grc-gre, Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου εν τοις Στουδίου, Monē tou Hagiou Iōannē tou Prodromou en to ...
Stoudios
The Monastery of Stoudios, more fully Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" ( grc-gre, Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου εν τοις Στουδίου, Monē tou Hagiou Iōannē tou Prodromou en to ...
Fatih
5th-century churches
Greek Orthodox monasteries