Vefa Church Mosque
Vefa Kilise Camii/Molla Gürani Camii
Vefa Church-Mosque (Turkish Vefa Kilise Camii/Molla Gürani Camii) was a Middle Byzantine church in Constantinople, north of the Valens of Aqueduct. It is a typical cross-in-square with a tripartite bema, a nine-bay naos with the central bay topped by an elegant dome, and a three-bay narthex. While it has traditionally been identified as the church of St. Theodore, its identity is uncertain. It seems that it was converted into a mosque by Sheikh al-Islam Mullah Gürani during the reign of Mehmet II or Beyazid II.
It probably dates to the 11th or 12th century. Several additions were made in the Palaiologan era (perhaps in the 13th century), the most important of which was a five-bay outer narthex with three domes. A belfry, whose base survives, was added at the same period in the southwestern corner of the building. The two-story annex on the north side predates the construction of the exonarthex. A similar structure is found in the Monastery of Chora. Nineteenth-century drawings show that there was a chapel or a colonnaded portico, which has since disappeared, attached to the south of the church. It was accessed by a large tripartite opening, which is now blocked by masonry. The date of this structure is debated.
The exonarthex preserves some of its original mosaic decoration (dating to the Palaiologan era). The apex of the southern dome has an image of the Theotokos and Christ child with eight ancestors of Christ in the flutes of the dome. Fragmentary mosaics were also found in the central dome.
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From Nomidis
From Architecture Monastique by Lenoir (1852-1856)
From Byzantine Studies by Paspates (1877)
From Pulgher (1880)
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Ebersolt & Thiers (1910)
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Ebersolt & Thiers (1910)
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Gertrude Bell (1905)
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Gertrude Bell (1905)
Alfred-Nicolas Normand (1887)
Photo by David Talbot-Rice
Click to see map of Byzantine Churches of Constantinople
Sources
Marinis, V. Architecture and Ritual in the Churches of Constantinople: Ninth to Fifteenth Centuries
Ćurčić, S. Architecture in the Balkans: From Diocletian to Süleyman the Magnificent
Ousterhout, R. Eastern Medieval Architecture: The Building Traditions of Byzantium and Neighboring Lands
Müller-Wiener, W. Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul
Mathews, T. The Byzantine Churches of Istanbul: A Photographic Survey
Janin, R. La géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin
Van Millingen, A. Byzantine Churches in Constantinople: Their History and Architecture
Esmer, M. İstanbul'daki Orta Bizans Dönemi Kiliseleri Ve Çevrelerinin Korunması İçin Öneriler
Theis, L. Die Flankenraeume in Mittelbyzantinischer Kirchenbau
Kirimtayif, S. Converted Byzantine Churches in Istanbul: Their Transformation Into Mosques and Masjids
Hallensleben, H. “Zu Annexbauten der Kilise camii in Istanbul”
Effenberger, A. “Die Klöster der beiden Kyrai Martha und die Kirche des Bebaia Elpis-Klosters in Konstantinopel”
Mango, C. “The Work of M. I. Nomidis in the Vefa Kilise Camii, Istanbul”
Mango, C. “Constantinopolitana B: Kilise Camii”
Varsallona, J. “The Date and the Function of the Northern Annex of Vefa Kilise Camii at Istanbul”
Sav, M. “Vefa Kilise Camii'nin Yeni Bulguları Üzerine”
Esmer. “Review of the recent restoration of the Vefa Kilise Camii”
Erdoğan, E. “İstanbul’daki Osmanli Yapilarinda Kullanilan Devşirme Malzemenin Değerlendirilmesi”
Çeti̇nkaya, H. “An Epitaph of a Gepid king at Vefa Kilise Camii in Istanbul”
Resources
Vefa Church Mosque Album (Byzantine Legacy Flickr)
Garden of Vefa Church Mosque Album (Byzantine Legacy Flickr)
Byzantine Churches of Constantinople (Byzantine Legacy Google Map)
