Hagios Ioannis ton Stoudiou
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/01/02/01/017 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Istanbul |
| Dates | 1906/1907? |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | Elevations. This is a preliminary drawing. It is annotated in pencil. |
| Further information | Stoudios monastery, a spacious three-aisled basilica located in the Psamathia region close to the Golden Gate, is the oldest surviving church in Constantinople. Dedicated to Hagios Ioannis (St John) the Baptist it owes its name to its founder Senator Stoudios. The monastery, which must have been founded before 454 –at around 450 as recent excavations suggest- played a key role during the iconoclastic controversy as a major iconophile centre under the leadership of the celebrated hegoumenos Theodore of Stoudios. A large number of entrances provided access to the building from all four sides, galleries run above the aisles and the narthex, a large atrium preceded the church which was decorated with rich architectural sculpture of the finest quality. Only a cistern to the southeast of the basilica and a middle/late Byzantine two-columned, groin-vaulted chapel remain of the rest of the monastic buildings. The monastery, which continued to play a key role in the political/ecclesiastical struggles at least until the middle Byzantine period, was restored in 1293 acquiring the importance it had before its decline during the Latin occupation of Constantinople. The surviving Typikon (foundation document) of the monastery, a cornerstone text for Byzantine liturgical tradition first complied just after Theodore of Studios’ death (826), ruled the rite of most Byzantine monasteries outside Palestine until the 14th c. |