Last updated on .
The Pammakaristos Church (Θεοτόκος ἡ Παμμακάριστος) was one of the most important Byzantine churches in Constantinople. It’s located on the edge of the Çarşamba neighborhood of the Fatih district in Istanbul.
History
The Pammakaristos Church was built sometime between the 11th and 12th centuries, either during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas or at the beginning of the Komnenos dynasty. It may sit on the site of another church erected in the 8th century.
Shortly after 1310, a parecclesion (side chapel) was added to the south side of the church. It was built by Martha Glabas in memory of her husband, Michael Doukas Glabas Tarchaneiotes (1235-1304). He was a Byzantine general and aristocrat who was buried in the chapel.
After the Fall of Constantinople, the Pammakaristos Church remained in the hands of the Greek Orthodox community. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople moved its headquarters to the church in 1456, following three years at the Church of the Holy Apostles (now the site of the Fatih Mosque). The church remained the seat of the Patriarchate until 1587, when it moved to the Church of the Virgin Paramythia in Fener.
In 1591, Sultan Murad III converted the church into a mosque. He named it Fethiye Mosque (Fethiye Camii) in honor of his conquests of Georgia and Azerbaijan. In order to create a larger prayer hall, most of the interior walls of the church were removed.
The main part of the building remains a mosque to this day and the parecclesion is now a museum. The mosaics in the parecclesion were restored in 1949 by the Byzantine Institute of America and Dumbarton Oaks before opening as a museum.
Fethiye Museum
The parecclesion of the Pammakaristos Church is now the Fethiye Museum. It contains the largest amount of Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul after Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church. Admission for foreigners is €3 (as of April 2024). (Note: the museum is currently closed for restoration (as of April 2024).)
Entrance
The entrance contains a fresco of the Three Wise Men on the wall. There are also fragments of frescoes along the north wall leading to the narthex. The walls were once covered with fine marble, which has long since been removed.
Narthex
In the narthex, there’s a tablet with an inscription in Greek as well as more fragments of frescoes. A red cross is painted on the wall to the left.
Nave
In the nave you’ll see the brilliant 14th century mosaics that the church is famous for. Other than the mosaics, four marble columns topped with beautifully carved capitals support the dome.
An inscription on the lintel of the south and west walls, written by Byzantine poet Manuel Philes of Ephesus (1275-1345), indicates the dedication of the chapel to Christ.
The south wall contains a mosaic of the Baptism of Christ at the Jordan River. It’s completely intact.
Dome
The mosaic in the dome depicts Christ Pantocrator holding a bible in his hand. He’s surrounded by the 12 prophets of the Old Testament: Moses, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Micah, Joel, Zechariah, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Jonah, Malachi, Ezekiel, and Isaiah.
Apse
In the apse is a mosaic of Christ Hyperagathos with the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist at his sides. The vault above the apse depicts Archangels Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel.
Mosaics
The rest of the naos is decorated with several different mosaics of saints. There are 13 bishops represented on either side of the apse, of which six are missing. Six monk saints are depicted in the southwest section.
