Churches of Constantinople: The Chora Church

A theorized reconstruction of the facade of the Chora church as a Christian church. 
Source: Eastern Medieval Architecture: The Building Traditions of Byzantium and Neighbouring Lands, Robert G. Ousterhout

Continuing on with our considerations of some of the churches of the once great imperial Christian city of Constantinople, we will today turn our attention to the second greatest extant structure after Hagia Sophia, the church of St. Saviour in Chora, or what is generally simply referred to as the Chora church. 

Chora was a monastery whose foundations date back to the fourth century.At that time it was on the outskirts of the city -- hence the Green word "chora," meaning "in the fields"  The current church predominantly dates to the eleventh century however when the church was rebuilt.  Unfortunately, a century later, it suffered new damages as a result of the earthquakes and in the fourteenth century, the church was once again repaired/rebuilt.  

It was during this period that the church would gain the significant artistic decorations for which it is now so justly famed.  These particular works were commissioned by a wealthy and powerful Byzantine statesman (who appears in a dedicatory mosaic showing him wearing the finery of the Byzantine court and presenting a model of the church to Christ), Theodore Metochites.  Metochites spared no expense in lavishing upon the church with some of the finest works of art that the Byzantine artists of this particular period could muster.  Unfortunately for us, when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in the fifteenth century, the church would be turned into a mosque with these works covered over in a layer of plaster, but fortunately for us, the works remained beneath, allowing them to eventually be uncovered and restored within the twentieth century.

The church contains so much impressive work that we cannot possibly share it all, so instead what we will do is look at some select highlights of some of the works within Chora by category. 

EXTERIOR

If you'd like to see a three dimensional digital reconstruction of the exterior, you can see one here.)

MARBLE REVETMENTS

Aside from the beautiful frescoes and mosaic work that we have already mentioned, the Chora church also boasts beautiful marble revetments within its interior, a common feature of Roman (whether Western or Eastern) imperial era architectural design.  Seen here are some of the marble revetments found in the church.

MOSAICS

The mosaics are, for me, where Chora particularly stands out both for what it can offer in terms of the particularly refined quality of the mosaic work, and also in terms of its ability into giving us an insight into what must have been the splendour of Byzantine Constantinople. 

A mosaic of Christ "the Land of the Living" found in the esonarthex of the church (as you peer through the door, you will also see just beyond it a mosaic of St. Peter).

Detail of a mosaic showing the church's final patron, Theodore Metochites

A mosaic of Christ Pantrocrator in one of the domes of the church (there are six in total) with figures around him, showing the genealogy of Christ. 

The dome of the Theotokos, found within the inner narthex. Like the Pantocrator dome, figures showing the genealogy of the Blessed Virgin surround her. 

The Dormition

St. George

St. Peter

St. Paul

A mosaic of the Theotokos found near where the templon would have stood in the main church. There is another of Christ found mirror opposite to this. 

The Deesis, found in the narthex

Many narrative mosaics can also be found in Chora. Here are just a few.

Scenes from the life of Christ, including St. John the Baptist pointing to Christ, and Christ's temptation.

FRESCOES

In addition to the beautiful mosaic works found throughout Chora, we can also find a series of beautiful frescoes which were likewise commissioned by Theodore Metochites. These frescoes are primarily found within the "paraecclsion" -- a secondary, funerary chapel that was added to the church.  Perhaps the most famous fresco found here is that of Christ and the harrowing of Hell, represented by a stunning image of Christ pulling Adam and Eve out from their tombs.

There are many other noteworthy frescoes to be found within the paraecclesion. Here is just a small selection to give you at least a sense of the treasures to be found here and how it meshes with the architecture. . 

The dome of the paraecclesion showing the Theotokos surrounded by angels.

St. George

The Theotokos.

A particularly refined and beautiful iconographic fresco of the Archangel Michael.

SCULPTURAL WORKS

Finally, while we tend to think of Byzantine artistic works as essentially two dimensional -- namely, painting and mosaic -- this wasn't always the case and Chora also contains examples of some of the beautiful sculptural work of the Byzantines.

A Byzantine capital. On one side we see a wreathed cross, on the other the archangel Michael. 

Sculptural elements (sadly defaced) showing sculptural reliefs of Christ and two angels. 

The church at Chora ultimately presents us with one of the best insights into the decorative tastes and approaches of Byzantines prior to the Ottomans.  Even in its present damaged state, we can see what a wonder it would have been to behold (and indeed still is) and in an age that was not as image-saturated as our own, the impact of this imagery on the viewer cannot be overstated. 

In terms of a modern tourist destination, the church at Chora is arguably second only to Hagia Sophia within the city -- though for lovers of Byzantine art, it may well even make it to the very top of the list.  

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