Church
Church of SS Sergius and Bacchus
The church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople is dedicated to two Roman soldiers who
were tortured to death in 303. According to a legend, Bacchus was flogged to
death first, while Sergius survived and was brought to the fort at Resafa, not
far from the Euphrates, where he was again tortured.
The emperor Justinian was one of the most ardent
devotees. As a youth, he had been condemned to death because he was
believed to have plotted against the emperor Anastasius I, but the twin saints had,
according to a legend, in a dream appeared to the ruler, who had now understood
that Justinian was innocent - or that God had greater plans with the man -
and had released him.
It comes as no surprise
that Justinian dedicated a church to SS. Sergius and Bacchus. The grounds on
which he built the sanctuary were not far from the Hormisdas Palace, where the
emperor used to live.
The church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus was a
complex project, because a second church, which was designed as a basilica was very close to it, and in fact shared the
entrance with the new church.
It is not recorded to whom this second church was dedicated, and no traces of
it are left. Construction of the SS. Sergius and Bacchus took several years,
but the project was finished before 536.
The dome is very remarkable, because it
consists of eight flat and eight concave sections, which rest on eight piers.
This is unique, but it might well have become extremely popular. Many churches
in this age were very innovative and experimental; the architects were still
looking for new forms. Eventually, the dome of the Hagia Sophia was to receive
a different design, which became the new standard.
The church was converted into a mosque in the
first years of the sixteenth century and is now known as the Küçük
Ayasofya, the "Little Hagia Sofia".
http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/dumbarton-oaks-papers/dop54/dp54ch1.pdf
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