Church of the Holy Apostles
Quick Summary
The Church of the Holy Apostles was a significant historical site in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. While no longer standing, it was one of the most important churches in the city, second only to the Hagia Sophia. Emperor Constantine the Great commissioned its construction in the 4th century CE, and it was later rebuilt and expanded by his successors.12
The church was designed as a basilica, a common architectural form for public buildings in ancient Rome that early Christians adopted for their places of worship. It was intended to house the relics of the Apostles, making it a central site for pilgrimage and religious life in Constantinople. The church's grandeur and importance reflected the power and influence of the Byzantine Empire and its capital.342
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Western architectureSecond period, after 313 ceThe destroyed church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople, known only through a description by Eusebius of Caesarea, was begun in 333 and completed by Constantius II (337–361). It was cross-shaped, and a drum—a cylindrical or polygonal wall that usually supports a dome—rose above the crossing, probably…
Read MoreThe destroyed church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople, known only through a description by Eusebius of Caesarea, was begun in 333 and completed by Constantius II (337–361). It was cross-shaped, and a drum—a cylindrical or polygonal wall that usually supports a dome—rose above the crossing, probably…
Read More- Western architectureThe early Byzantine period (330–726)
, parallel-stepped arrangement); the church of the Holy Apostles, which was cruciform, with a dome at the crossing and another on each of the arms of the cross; and, finally, the great cathedral of Hagia Sophia, where the ideas of longitudinal basilica and centralized building were combined in a…
Read More, parallel-stepped arrangement); the church of the Holy Apostles, which was cruciform, with a dome at the crossing and another on each of the arms of the cross; and, finally, the great cathedral of Hagia Sophia, where the ideas of longitudinal basilica and centralized building were combined in a…
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