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Gennadios Scholarios and the Church of the Holy Apostles

Melvani Nicholas (Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz), nmelvani@uni-mainz.de

The article tests the established view that Gennadios Scholarios, the first patriarch of Constantinople after the 1453 Conquest, used the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople as the seat of the Patriarchate for a few months in 1454 before moving to the building complex of the Pammakaristos monastery. After pointing out that all the sources that narrate the story of the installation of the Patriarchate in the famous Byzantine church date from the 16th century or later, the author examines sources contemporary with the events, including texts written by Scholarios himself. The aim of the article is to show that Scholarios officiated occasionally in the Holy Apostles and managed to salvage some of the relics it once held, but this does not mean that the church functioned as the official seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Keywords: Gennadios Scholarios, Patriarchate of Constantinople, Church of the Holy Apostles, Constantinople, Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople, Ottoman policy towards Christians