Church of the Holy Apostles

May 12, 2010 01:24 by haci

The Church of the Holy Apostles (Greek: Ἅγιοι Ἀπόστολοι, Agioi Apostoloi; Turkish: Havariyyun), also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian basilica built in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) among the great churches of the Eastern Empire. When Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453, the Holy Apostles briefly became the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. In 1461, however, it was taken over by the Ottomans and demolished to make way for the Fatih Mosque.