Origins The building reputedly stands on the site of a pre-Christian temple. It ranks as the first church completed in
Constantinople, before Hagia Sophia, during its transformation from a Greek trading colony to the eastern capital of the Roman Empire. According to later tradition but disputed by some scholars, the
Roman emperor
Constantine I commissioned the first Hagia Irene church in the 4th century, which was completed by the end of his reign (337). When Constantine died, it is believed that his resting place may be the porphyry sarcophagus that lay in the courtyard. It served as the church of the
Patriarchate before
Hagia Sophia was completed in 360 under
Constantius II. During the
Nika revolt in 532, Hagia Irene was burned down. In the wake of the riots, Emperor
Justinian I, who had almost been deposed during the riot, had the church rebuilt in 548 as part of a widespread architectural project. It was then damaged again by the
740 Constantinople earthquake on October 20, 740, about six months before the death of
Leo III. There is very little scholarship on the function of the Hagia Irene from Constantine, even during the turbulent periods of theological controversies. One of the early challenges facing the developing Christian Church was the Arian controversy, which centered around Christ being divine or not. To resolve this issue, a council was held at Nicea that resulted in the widely accepted Nicean Creed, which stated that Christ was begotten from God, and as such is divine. The arrival of Justinian to the throne in 527 saw a concerted effort to stamp out any deviation from Orthodoxy as defined by the Nicean council and all following councils, and these efforts were directed against Jews, pagans, and “heretics”. Jews were alienated from Byzantine society, and Jewish writings began shifting from Greek to Hebrew as they retreated to the safety of their own culture. Pagans had restrictive laws placed against them, with severe penalties, including death, for breaking them. Any sort of coordinated resistance efforts were squashed. Samaritans, an ethno-religious group similar to Jews, rose up against the Byzantine Empire in 529 and were ruthlessly suppressed, with almost 100,000 being killed during the suppression of the uprising. Politically, the Church and the Western/Eastern Roman emperors interacted with each other with various power dynamics. On one hand, it was apparent that church leaders had, at times, significant power over the emperor, such as St. Ambrose denying Theodosius I entry to the church in Milan until he repented for his role in the Massacre of Thessalonica. However, at other times there were interactions that were friendly. Liturgical practices during services at the Hagia Sophia during Justinian’s reign saw the emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople, in a private room high above and away from the citizens of Constantinople, engage in prayer to God before returning to lead the congregation together. Despite moments of difference between the state and the church throughout Byzantine history, Justinian’s aforementioned stance on religious deviation showed a common imperial and religious goal. The Hagia Irene church witnessed one of the most devastating episodes in the history of Constantinople as a city, which was the Nika Revolt in 532. Around the time of Justinian’s campaign of religious consolidation, A riot broke out after a chariot race at the Hippodrome that nearly saw the emperor deposed. The riot spread quickly, engulfing the entire city in violence, and a majority of the city would be razed during the events of the revolt. The Hagia Irene was destroyed during the revolt, but it is unknown why it was targeted by the rioters (although it was the seat of the Patriarchate, which is significant considering the timing of the riot just several years after Justinian’s initiation of a widespread crackdown on religious dissent). The rebuilt Hagia Irene was constructed as part of Justinian’s massive architectural project that was happening across the empire, and the design of the church was based on the emerging “centrally-planned” design of churches that was becoming more and more standardized. Additionally, the church had hospices added to it to service the poor and sick, and Justinian endowed it with regular funds to keep it running. A similar endeavor happened earlier under Constantine, where he built several churches in the easternmost portions of his empire as part of a good-will project that not only included the building of architectural works, but charity to the poor as well.
Arsenal (photo between 1888 and 1910). The current building dates from 532. Its predecessor was the first church building commissioned by Constantine in
Constantinople. After the
Fall of Constantinople in 1453 by
Mehmed II, the church was enclosed inside the walls of the Topkapi palace. The
Janissaries used the church as an
arsenal (
Cebehane) until 1826. It was also used as a warehouse for military equipment and repository for trophies of arms and military regalia taken by the Turks. It was used as the Military Museum from 1908 until 1978 when it was then turned over to the
Turkish Ministry of Culture.
Concert hall Today, the Hagia Irene serves mainly as a
concert hall for
classical music performances, due to its extraordinary
acoustic characteristics and impressive atmosphere. Many of the concerts of the
Istanbul International Music Festival have been held here every summer since 1980. In 2000, the Turkish
haute couture designer
Faruk Saraç produced a special show here. A collection of 700 designed pieces inspired by the Ottoman sultans, including the robes of 36 sultans ranging from
Osman Gazi, the founder of the
Ottoman Empire to the last sultan,
Mehmed VI, were on display. The show was accompanied by music and the story of the sultans' lives and demonstrations of Ottoman-era dancing. For many years, the Hagia Irene was only accessible during events or by special permission, but the museum has been open to the public every day except Tuesday since January 2014. == Structure ==