The Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos in Constantinople

Continuing on with our considerations of some of the (former) churches of the Eastern Roman Empire, especially those situated in the great city of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), we turn out attention today to the Church of the Theotokos Pammakaristos. This particular structure follows a form that we today generally think of as "Greek" or, more broadly, "Byzantine" -- though I prefer to think of it in the more unifying sense of "Eastern Roman." 

This particular church contains an impressive amount of mosaics after Hagia Sophia and the Chora church, which will be the primary focus here given that the structure has not functioned as a church for some time, having been converted into a mosque in 1591. From 1456 until 1587 the church functioned as the seat of the Archbishop of Constantinople and while there is some dispute as to its age, most scholars place its construction between the eleventh and twelfth centuries.  

The church follows a traditional "cross-in-square" plan but was altered considerably to make it function for a time as a mosque, seeing arcades and walls removed to open up the space.  

That said, what particularly stands out are the extant mosaic works which, despite all of the modifications and iconoclasim the building has faced, still give one a sense of what is must have been in its liturgical heyday. 

Amongst the mosaics still to be found within are a representation of Christ Pantocrator in the main apse, the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary), the Theotokos, St. John the Baptist, the Archangel Michael, various prophets of the Old Testament as well as various Byzantine saints. 

While no longer in the church itself, one can also find various sculptural fragments that were originally within the church:

In many ways these different elements show aspects both of later Byzantine art and architecture as we've come to know it, as well as aspects such as sculptural works and naturalistic motifs that we tend to moreso associate with the Latin West. 

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