Church of the Holy Apostles of Thessaloniki

The Church of the Holy Apostles, dating back to the 14th century, is a fine example of Palaiologan monastery architecture in Thessaloniki, one of the most important Byzantine city. Indeed, it was the katholicon (main church) of a monastery and stands today as the most remarkable remain of the establishment. The monastery was located in the western side of the city, close the the walls, to the north of the via Egnatia.

Foundation of the monastery.

The west and south facades show brickwork monographs and carved inscriptions naming the patriarch Niphon of Constantinople, who served as patriarch between 1310 and 1314, as the founder. However, Carbon-14 analysis of the fabric of the church shows that all of the building was constructed at the same time, but suggests a date of ca. 1329. The monk Paul is named as a second ktetor and higoumenos. Both the carbon-14 datation and the stong presence of the Theotokos in the decoration point to the identification of the establishment as the monastery of the Theotokos Gorgoepikoos, known from historical sources and built in 1329.

It is however possible that Niphon have had a first church built on the site, which was later restructured and extended in a monastery by his protege Niphon.

Ground plan and exterior of the Holy Apostle.

It was built on a cross-in-square plan with five domes. The church is effectively divided into two parts: a naos with central dome on four columns, plus a narthex. It is surrounded by a U-shaped ambulatory with galleries and domes at each of the four corners.

The exterior of the church is richly decorated with brickwork patterns of all kinds: zigzags, hook patterns, cross-stitch designs, pendant triangles, grill patterns, and hexagon star. The west facade of the outer narthex was an open arcade.

Ancient view of the Holy Apostles
Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles of Thessaloniki
Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles of Thessaloniki
Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles of Thessaloniki

Interior and decoration of the church.

The interior is dominated by verticality: the proportion of height to width of the central bay is 5:1.

The interior was once adorned with mosaics, on the upper levels only, and with frescoes, presumably executed by a Constantinopolitan workshop, perhaps the same that decorated the Church of the Chora in Constantinople.