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The city of Philippi, located in eastern Macedonia, Greece, was founded by Philip II in 356 on the site of the Thrasian colony of Krinides. It prospered during the Roman period due to its privileged position on the via Egnatia and in 49/50 AD Apostle Paul preached Christianity in this city for the first time on European soil. Although weakened by the Slavic and Bulgarian invations from the 6th to the 9th centuries, Philippi prospered until the beginning of the 13th c. when it fell again into the hands of the Serbs and ultimately the Ottomans. Excavations on the site began as early as 1920. Domed Basilica B, which was built in the 6th c. to the south of the Roman forum, must have been one the most impressive churches in the city. The monument strongly recalls contemporary Constantinopolitan religious buildings, like the churches of Hagia Eirene and Hagia Sophia, and must have been designed by architects from the capital. |
