Monastery of the Pantokrator

Hello everyone, I'm Robin Pearson and I'm here to show you what remains of the Monastery of the Pantocrator in Istanbul. Alexius Komnenos took charge of the Roman Empire at a crucial moment in its history. Turkic tribes had overrun the eastern provinces and Alexius ended up calling on the Crusaders to help him recapture imperial land. Alexius also worked hard to legitimise his rule by investing in charitable institutions across Constantinople. His son John would inherit the throne and follow in his father's footsteps. It was he and his wife Irene who decided to found a new imperial monastery dedicated to Christ Pantocrator here on the city's fourth hill. Overlooking the Golden Horn, the new landmark would be visible for miles around, which was the intention. The monastery was part of an attempt to underline the Komnenian family's imperial credentials. Construction began soon after Alexius' death in 1118 AD. Initially there was just one church here, this one, along with several other monastic buildings which have since disappeared. These included a hospital and old age home as well as facilities for the monks and nuns who would run them. It was John's wife Irene who sponsored this project. Investing in free social care for the public was seen as a key aspect of imperial rule in Byzantium. When Irene died in 1134 John decided to expand the site. He built a second church to the north of hers and then added a burial chapel to connect the two. The original church was dedicated to Christ Pantocrator, the Almighty. The second church was built to honour the merciful or charitable Virgin Mary. And finally the funerary chapel was dedicated to the Archangel Michael. In addition to this pleasing symbolism, the new construction served a long-standing need of the Komnenian dynasty. For the past 600 years Roman emperors had been buried in a mausoleum attached to the Church of the Holy Apostles, which sadly no longer stands. By John's reign though the imperial mausoleum was full, and so his new burial chapel would serve as the resting place for future emperors. The new monastic complex was therefore also a political symbol, a new imperial mausoleum for a new legitimate dynasty. John's son Manuel would further adorn the site by bringing the Stone of Unction into the burial chapel. This was the marble slab on which Christ's body was placed after his crucifixion. Supposedly the slab was housed in Ephesus and Manuel brought it to Constantinople with much ceremony in 1170. When the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204 the Pantocrator was thoroughly looted. According to one source 62 relics were stolen by the Latins. The site became the headquarters of the Venetians during the occupation and it suffered serious damage when the Byzantines retook the city in 1261. For the next two centuries though the Pantocrator resumed its status as the capital's imperial burial site. Several members of the new Palaiologen dynasty were buried here alongside their Komnenian predecessors. Shortly after the capture of the city by the Ottomans in 1453 the Pantocrator was converted into a madrasa by Zeyrek Molla Efendi, hence the modern name for the surviving buildings the Zeyrek Mosque. In addition to the usual change in furnishings, conversion also led to major structural changes for the churches. Their internal subdivisions were slowly opened up creating the wide open space you can see today. Over time columns were replaced by piers and both domes have been altered significantly by Ottoman architects. The Byzantine Institute of America were able to excavate and restore the building in the 1950s and 60s bringing to light a number of original Byzantine features which can be seen today. The building was further restored in the leaving it in a fresh looking state for my arrival in 2018. As you enter the mosque you will pass through these original marble door frames showing off some of the wealth which the Komnenoi lavished on the building. There is more marble inside as you look ahead towards the mihrab. Notice the marble revetment which has survived the centuries. This was standard Byzantine church decoration ever since the Ahiye Sophia had gone up. Under the carpet in this part of the building lies a real hidden treasure. The original Byzantine floor is still under there and has now been protected by a layer of glass that sits under the carpet. The design is composed of circles of coloured marble alongside images of the creatures from the earth, sky and ocean. Typically scenes like this would feature in the decoration of a palace rather than a church, underlining the building's imperial sponsorship. Also the signs of the zodiac appear in the design. The use of these symbols in a Christian building is unusual and may represent the ongoing fascination with astrology in medieval times and in circles in particular. The minbar, the Islamic pulpit, is also a fascinating piece of history. If you look at it closely you can see that it has been made from reused pieces of sculpture, Byzantine sculpture. In fact this piece has been identified as once belonging to the beautiful church of Polyuktus whose other remains can be found in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. I was given kind permission to walk up the minbar and film inside it. As you can see Christian symbols and a monogram are visible inside. This minbar seems to have been made from a Byzantine ciborium, a structure which would cover the altar in a church, recycling at its finest. Up there at the back of the building is the Sultan's Loge, a sort of royal box for when the Sultan came to worship here. If you're given permission to come up to this level you will get a much better view of the upper reaches of the building and the chance to spot more features of the original church which have survived. Back down on the ground, if we move next door we now enter the funerary chapel. As you can see there's little left to show that this is the space where several Roman emperors were laid to rest. Look closer though and you'll see that a little bit of the original mosaic has been exposed above the window and beyond that the Byzantine cornice has also been restored. As for the tombs themselves they would have been clustered under the western dome which is the space on the right of this picture. I don't have good shots of that end of the building. The tombs would have been below the nearer chandelier and wooden staircase. That recess in the wall behind the stairs seems to be all that remains of the archosolia, the space for tombs that would once have lined these walls. Moving along we come to the north church which was dedicated to the Virgin. The space itself has little to show us but by the window another section of mosaic has been exposed and above that beautiful sculptural decoration runs the length of this part of the building. It features images of vines and birds and has seemingly been modelled on the decoration of much earlier churches in the capital. These small surviving pieces of decoration give us a sense of the pretensions of the Comnenian regime. These churches were designed to showcase the sophistication of the new ruling elite and provide a space worthy of a great imperial dynasty. Mosques in Istanbul can be visited in the day outside of prayer times but since the Pantocrator is off the usual tourist itinerary I would suggest going with a tour guide. Contact me for suggestions. Some can ask very politely and get the carpet rolled up to allow you a glimpse of the original floor. For those really interested you might also be shown the remnants of the wider monastic complex which are dotted around the surrounding area. Being up on the fourth hill you can enjoy nice views of the city with a drink right outside the building and if you're making a day of it then 10 minutes away is the best view of the aqueduct of Valens along with the ruins of the church of Saint Polyeuctus where that distinctive bit of sculpture from the minbar was taken from. If you'd like more detailed information about the monastery of the Pantocrator then visit thebyzantinelegacy.com it's a fantastic website providing breakdowns of the Byzantine buildings that can still be seen today and there you'll find most of these still images and sketches used in these videos.