The church of Agioi Apostoloi



Agioi Apostoloi (the Church of the Holy Apostles) is located in the western part of the historic centre of Thessaloniki, near the west wall and the now destroyed Litaia Gate.

The church was the catholicon of a monastery. Surviving structures include part of the once imposing tower-shaped portal to the southwest, and a large cistern to the northwest, the size of which attests to the large number of monks living there, and by extension to the monastery’s wealth. According to tradition, the church takes its name from the popular belief that it had a twelve-domed roof symbolizing the apostles, though the subject matter of the frescoes in the peristyle reveals that it must initially have been dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The catholicon was built from 1310 to 1314 under the sponsorship of Patriarch Niphon I, as attested by the inscription above the entrance, the monograms on the capitals of the west facade and the ceramoplastic inscriptions on the west and south sides. The second founder referred to is Paul, abbot and former pupil of Niphon, who is depicted praying before the Virgin Mary above the entrance leading from the narthex to the nave. Circa 1520-1530 the monastery was converted into a mosque. The mosaics and frescoes were covered with plaster once the gold background tesserae had been carefully removed. The building was restored to Christian worship following the liberation of Thessaloniki in 1912.

The Holy Apostles is a composite cross-in-square church with a narthex and Π shaped peristyle. This ends in two chapels to the east, and has four low domes in the corners. The east side is dominated by the large seven-sided sanctuary niche, flanked by smaller three-sided conches forming the Prothesis and the Diaconicon. The exterior features finely constructed elements typical of Paleologan architecture (numerous arches, conches and brick half columns). Inside, refined proportions combined with a variety of morphological elements make for a superbly balanced and sophisticated composition.

Remains of the interior decoration include mosaics and frescoes of exceptional historical and artistic value. The mosaics were sponsored by Patriarch Niphon, who apparently intended to decorate the lower sections with marble revetments. The Pantocrator is depicted in the central dome, surrounded by ten full-length prophets. Lower down, the figures of the four Evangelists still survive, alongside scenes from the Dodecaorton depicted in the arches: the Nativity, the Transfiguration, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Resurrection, the Crucifixion and the Assumption. Together with the mosaics in the Chora and Pammakaristos monasteries in Constantinople, those in the Holy Apostles are the latest examples of such decoration in Byzantium, numbering among the sublimest manifestations of Paleologan art.

Niphon was ousted from the patriarchal throne in 1314, and thus could not complete his ambitious plan. The decorations were supplemented with equally high quality frescoes in the lower parts of the nave, the narthex, the peristyle and the north chapel dedicated to John the Baptist, bearing scenes from the Old and New Testaments, and subjects either inspired by hymnography or of a symbolic nature. The wall paintings date to the late 1410s,  and have been linked to the abbacy of Paul, the second founder.


Glossary (15)

catholicon: the main church of a monastery. As a rule it was the most imposing one, located in the center of the courtyard
portal: large exterior gate used as the main entrance to mansions, palaces, monasteries, etc.
cistern: reservoir for collecting water. Usually rectangular in shape and roofed with arches.
peristyle: Space surrounding the main body of a church or the core of a centrally-planned building. In domed basilicas this was formed by the side naves and the western part of the church. In later periods peristyles surrounded enclosed cruciform cores. In the Palaeologan period peristyles were built around many of the Middle Byzantine churches in Constantinople, often serving as funerary chapels.
capital: uppermost part of a column acting as support for the architrave, usually decorated. The three basic types of capitals are the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian. In Byzantine times they were adorned with carvings and used in churches, being mostly variations of the Corinthian type.
ceramoplastic decoration: ceramic and plinth decorative elements inlayed on the exterior surfaces of church walls (bricks, meanders, crosses, diamonds, jagged strips, etc.)
narthex: oblong reception area extending along the western side of a basilica. Originally the east portico of the atrium, it was later incorporated into the church, and served as a waiting area for catechumens, who were not allowed to attend the Divine Liturgy.
cross-in-square church: type of church where the central dome is supported by four arches covering the extremities of an equilateral cross. Lateral compartments, covered with small domes or barrel vaults, are formed at the four corners of the cross and thus the church forms a cross inscribed in a square or rectangular area. Externally the sign of the cross is also prominent because of this unique way of covering the roof.
dome: hemispherical vault resting on a cylindrical or polygonal drum. Widely used in Christian church architecture.
prothesis: chamber to the north of the Bema which holds the Holy Gifts before the Great Entrance, and the Communion after Divine Liturgy.
diaconicon or diakonicon: Chamber with a niche, usually opening off the south side of the church, where offerings from the faithful, sacred vessels and vestments were kept. In the late 6th century it was moved to the eastern part of the south aisle, next to the Sanctuary. Another similar room, called the prothesis, was constructed on the east side of the north nave. Sanctuary architecture as still seen today was established by the addition of these compartments.
demi or half column: Architectural element of semicircular cross section, corresponding to half a vertical column. Demi or half columns were usually embedded into a wall or to other architectural elements, such as the two sides of a pillar, thus forming mullions.
marble revetment: facings of colored marble slabs that covered walls from the floor to the starting point of arches.
Dodecaorton: the twelve major celebrations in the Orthodox Church associated with the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary, represented by a corresponding number of painted scenes, which have become the core of the iconographic programme in a church. These are: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Presentation, the Baptism, the Transfiguration, the Resurrection of Lazarus, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Incredulity of Thomas, the Ascension and Pentecost or the Assumption of Mary.
chapel: small sized church, either independent, belonging to a religious foundation, or part of a larger church. In Byzantium chapels were often used for burials.


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Bibliography (6)

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