(The Studite Monastery) THE CHURCH OF ST JOHN the Baptist AT STUDIOS (in Istanbul)

T A L M A C H
so much and simple

     Constantinople's oldest Church, the only one of the time-bracket between Constantine the Great and Justinian the Great that has survived, is the Church of St. John the Baptist at Studios [now known in Turkey as Imrahor Camii]. It is referred to as one of the most attractive ruins in today's Istanbul – roofless and romantically overgrown around its edges. 

     The Church was founded in 463 by a Roman patrician [consul] named Studium. Every year on the feast of the beheading of St. John the Baptist (29 August) the Emperor would come by sea to visit the Church whose most sacred relic was the head of the Baptist. [Apparently the latter acquired in the 13th C. the gift of {{{{bilocation}}}}[who's mocking...], for after the Fourth Crusade's loot had been distributed around Europe both Soissons and Amiens boasted the possession of the head of John the Baptist.]

     Today we approach the Church through what was originally the atrium, [or the courtyard of the mosque 1000 or so years later] with the ablution fountain still remaining. The narthex still shows much of its fine entrance portals with magnificently carved capitals, architrave and cornice. Inside, the Church is an empty shell but for the six lovely columns, each formed of a single block of verd antique. The entablature on top of this colonnade is still in place, popped up by scaffolding, but its carving, once rich, is now badly weathered. Originally, above it there was another row of support columns to the wooden roof. We can see parts of the fine opus sectile floor, the gift of Michael VIII Palaeologus after the restoration of the Byzantine Empire in 1261, in place of the flooring destroyed by the Fourth Crusade. The shell of the semi-circular apse still contains some of the structure of the mosque's mihrab with its askew orientation. But only our imagination may re-dress the walls with the rich marble revetments and mosaics of the days of the Church's glory. 

     This is the oldest Church in Istanbul, [the only example there of] a pure basilica, the first type of building used for Christian worship [the secular basilica had long been used for public assemblies of various kinds – from legal to social or imperial].

     The Church of St. John at Studios was originally attached to a monastery whose monks were known as 'Acoemetae', the sleepless ones, from their round-the-clock liturgizing, on a relay basis, with intercessions for the sins of the world. Under the iconoclast Emperors of the 8th C., the monastery clung tenaciously to the use of images in both art and worship; but it was not until 799 – when Theodore the Great became Abbot – that it rose to its full prominence. Under his guidance the monastery became not merely a centre of resistance to iconoclasm – with the inevitable persecutions that this entailed – but it also became a world-famous centre of scholarship, icon painting, manuscript interpreting, and sacred music composing.

     The Studite monastery produced several Patriarchs; and had two Emperors spending their enforced retirement here as monks in the 11th C., Isaac I Commenus and Michael VII Ducas. Isaac I had also studied here in his youth. Another Emperor, the much-hated Michael V Calaphates, was dragged screaming from his sanctuary here on April 21, 1042 [3 days after banishing his uncle John ... and his aunt Zoe to a convent], to be deposed and blinded [+ 24 August 1042, Estimated value $ 90,000, Gold histamenon nomisma (4.44 gr.), Extremely rare: probably less than eight specimens exist]. A son of the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid I, a covert Christian, was buried here in 1417. 

     After the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Church and monastery remained Christian until about 1500 when Beyazid II's Master of Horse (imrahor) Ilyas Bey evicted the few remaining monks and converted the Church into a mosque – Imrahor Ilyas Bey Camii. Hardly a stone has remained of the monastery. Both it and the mosque were damaged badly in a fire in 1782, and were further destroyed by an earthquake in 1894, which turned the mosque into a roofless ruin.

     [[[where is your treasure?...]]] 

Translated from Romanian

 

The Studion Monastery

     The Studion Monastery or Monastery of Studium is – along with other churches like Saint Sophia Cathedral and Church Vlaherne – one of the most famous churches built in Constantinople, the great capital of the Byzantine Empire. The monastery is located in the southern part of the city, called Yedikule, near the seashore.

The Studion Monastery

     From a historical point of view, this still is the most important monastery in the city. Monastery dwellers were known as "Studites". Studion is a name known throughout the Christian world. The monastery is known by many names: the Studite Monastery, the Monastery of St. John the Baptist at Studion (Hagios Ioannes Prodromos en tois Stoudiou), Studio, Stoudios, Stoudion and Studium.

     Although the Studion monastery has been abandoned for more than half a millennium now, its ordinances and cult were taken as model by the monks of Mount Athos, as well as by many other Orthodox monasteries in the world.

Byzantine Thumbnail of 11th C. depicting the Marmara Sea

Studion Monastery

     The Great confessor of Orthodoxy during the iconoclastic persecution in the early 9th C., St. Theodore the Studite has remained in the memory of the Church primarily as re-organizer 'par excellence' of monastic life in Byzantium. As an ascetic and a man of action his doctrine – being rather active than contemplative – St. Theodore the Studite created an ascetic theology, in which we find the quintessence of great personalities of Eastern spirituality, like St. Basil the Great , St. John Climacus , St. Maximus the Confessor – applied in a doctrine.

Brief History of the Studion Monastery

     The Studion monastery was founded in 462 by the consul Studios (called in Latin "Studius"), a Roman patrician from Italy, but who settled in Constantinople, and he was dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The Church built in honor of St. John the Baptist, whose head was found in Emessa , in 453 A.D., hoping to house his priceless relics. Failing this, the consul Studios wanted to relocate here Achim monks.

Studion Monastery –
a digitally reconstructed image (Byzantium 1200)

     The monastery was built between 454 and 463 A.D., and the first monks here were those of the Monastery Acoemetae ("akoimati" means "Achim", meaning "sleep deprived people, "those who keep watch incessantly "). The Studite Monks showed for the first time their love for the Orthodox Faith during the schism of Acacius (484-519). They remained within the Orthodox faith and a sad reminder of iconoclasm in the 8th and 9th Cc.

Studion Monastery –
a digitally reconstructed image (Byzantium 1200)

     Loyal to the true faith during the iconoclastic persecution the Studite congregation was scattered by the heretic Emperors Constantine Vth Copronymus [and Leo IV the Khazar] (741-775). The monastic life at the Studion was revived after 775, reaching a maximum flourishing in late 8th and the first half of the 9th Cc. under abbots Sava (participant in the Seventh Ecumenical Council, 787), Theodore of Studite, Naucratie and Nicholas of Studium.

     The Studion monastery was closed somewhere in between 754 and 787 A.D. The Studite monks were expelled from the monastery and from the city by Emperor Constantine Vth Copronymus. After his death in the 775 A.D., only few of them returned. The abbot and the elders of the monastery, Sabbas – Sava, zealously defended the Orthodox doctrine against the Iconoclasts, within the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, 787.

     In 798 A.D. the monk Theodore of the Sukkudion Monastery was asked by Empress Irene to take the leadership of the Studion monastery in Constantinople. He, then, was called Saint Theodore the Studite who helped the monastery to grow in all respects.

     Saint Theodore the Studite took care of the monastery which owes most of the reputation it earned in time, especially the cultivation of spiritual study and academic alike. Over time, Theodore Studite and the elder monks were expelled from the monastery on several occasions, some of them were killed by infidels.

     An apprentice of St. Theodore the Studite, the monk Naukratios – restored order in the monastery after the iconoclastic dispute ended. Abbot Nicholas (848-845 and 855-858) – as one not wanting to recognize Patriarch St. Photios the Great – was isolated in the Studion Monastery. This was followed by five elders, all recognizing the patriarch. Along with this, the great Studion Monastery began approaching the end of its historical existence.

     Also among other great pious fathers of the Studion Monastery are: St. Simeon the New Theologian (949-1022) and his disciple – St. Nikita Stithatul (1000-1080). By the mid-11th century, under the guidance of Abbot Simeon, a monk named Nikita Stithatul (also known as the Nicetas Pectoratus), a disciple of St. Simeon the New Theologian, attacked the virulent Latin teaching in a book of his. He attacked mainly three problems: the hostile use of the Eucharist, the Sabbath, and the marriage of priests. In 1054, he was forced to recant his book and – in front of the emperor and the papal legate – to throw it into the fire. Later, however, he will resume his defensive attitude of the Faith.

     From the point of view of intellectual life the Studion Monastery became famous for its Calligraphy School founded by St. Theodore the Studite. The Great Lavra of Constantionople housed both a famous scriptorium (center for copying and decorating manuscripts) in the 8th and 9th Cc., and a real hotbed of Byzantine hymnography in the 8th though the 11th centuries. The art of copying manuscripts was thoroughly practiced: some of the works written at the Studion monastery are kept today in Venice, Vatican and Moscow (e.g. the Chludov's Psalter). During the 8th through 11th centuries the Studion Monastery was the center of Byzantine religious poetry, a great number of its hymns and songs are still used today in Orthodox worship. Besides Theodore the Studite and Nikita the monastery has also had many other writers.

     The most important people of the Byzantine Empire, the patriarchs and the emperors, have been reported to have great love for the Studion Monastery. Of the Studite monks three came to occupy the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and also three is the number of the emperors who have taken monastic vows at the monastery, shortly before their deaths: Michael Vth, Michael VIIth, and Isaac I Comnenus.

     In 1204 the Studion monastery was demolished by the Crusaders in the Fourth Crusade. After almost 100 years, around 1290 the monastery was completely restored. Pilgrims who visited the city of Constantinople, during the 13th and 14th Cc., have described it as wonderful.

     The Russian pilgrims Anthony (1200) and Stefan (1350) were surprised by the size of the monastery. They say the Studion Monastery may house during liturgy 700 monks. Most of the monastery was to be destroyed again, this time by the Turks, with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453.

     The only part of the Studion Monastery, which survived until the early twentieth century, is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, probably the oldest church in Istanbul. The Church, built in the 5th C., in the form of a basilica with three naves, with lateral galleries, and was covered with a wooden roof.

     During Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512) it was turned into a mosque. In 1486, Imrahor Ilyas Bey turned the basilica into a mosque. Turks call the place with the name "Imrahor Camii", "Emir Mosque Akhor" or "Imrachor – Dschamissi" (literally, it means "horse master"). The structure of the ancient Church had long suffered from fires in 1784 and 1920. An earthquake in 1894 also had its say, and in 1908 its roof collapsed.

     After the earthquake, a group of Russian Byzantine masters, led by Fyodor Uspensky, opened on the territory of the Studion Monastery a Russian Institute of Archaeology. Its work was halted by the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the following decades , the ruins of the old monastery of Studion were pared by the locals, who used the stones in their homes. Only the beautiful mosaic floor dating from the 13th C., has been preserved, partially only, the mosaic is also shrinking.

     Today the monastery is still alive – only in the hearts of Christians everywhere. Monastic ruins can be seen not far from the Sea of Marmara – Propontis, in the region of the city of Constantinople called Psamathia, as well as in Koca Mustafa Pasa.

The Studion Monastery and St. Theodore the Studite

     By reorganizing the monastic life, by his fearless struggle against iconoclasm and by the secularization of the Church, St. Theodore the Studite stands side by side with the great warriors of Orthodoxy: St. Maximus the Confessor and St. John Damascene.

     Born in 749 A.D., of a noble family of high imperial governors, he received – in the first place – a good education, being instructed in grammar, rhetorics, dialectic, philosophy, and theology. He arrived at monastic life through the influence of his uncle [brother of his mother], the elder Joseph who arrived in the capital with the termination of the first iconoclastic period, in 780, leading his entire family to join the monastery, having freed the slaves, and having shared part of his wealth with the poor.

     Settling thereafter on a farm that he possessed in Bithynia, in the village of Sacudienilor, he turned it into a monastic center, under the elder Plato. There, through asceticism, Theodore acquired iron will and a strong character, showing also good administrative qualities. Therefore elder Plato who was ill, withdrew in favor of Theodore in 794, after being ordained a priest in 787 or 788.

     Soon (in 796) for his energetic opposition to the second marriage of Constantine VI Porfirogenetul (780-797) and to the tolerant attitude of the patriarch Tarasie (784-806) in scandal, Theodore was exiled to Thessalonica.

     But he returned triumphant to Constantinople in 797, after the ousting of Constantine VI. Empress Irene (797-802) offered him and his friends the Monastery of St. John the Baptist known as "Studion". Lately she had been in disrepair, especially when Emperor Constantine Vth Copronymus chased away the monks. But after resettlement there the Sakkoudion monks led by Theodore and Plato, the Studion monastery flourished in an unprecedented manner – it soon sheltered a huge congregation of about one thousand people.  

     In some time, the same Theodore and Plato – along with other Studites stood up against a Synod convened in 809 by Patriarch Nicephorus (806-815) at the request of Emperor Nicephorus I (802-811), which decided to reinstate the twice Church excommunicated emperor Constantine VIth, the great abbot was exiled for a second time, between 809-811. He was recalled by the Emperor Michael (811-813) and returns to Studion in 811. 

     But very soon – with the reign of Leo Vth the Armenian (813-820) there began the second iconoclastic period and along with it – a third and most painful exile of Theodore, the eloquent defender of the of icon veneration.

      Locked and tortured, he was carried from town to town through Asia Minor, first at Fvetopa , then Bonita and finally to Smyrna, where he remained until 820. Everything has now been banished by patriarch Nicephorus the Confessor, who had allied with Theodore's struggle to defend icons. From exile, the great elder continued to comfort and strengthen his brethren-iconophiles through homilies, letters, exhortations to the right faith and theological works, which include calls to Pope Paschal I (817-824).

             

     Returned from exile under Emperor Michael II tolerant Balbos (820-829), Theodore and his brethren insisted on restoring the cult for icons. Being heard too little, and as the Studion monastery was occupied by other monks, Theodore left Constantinople in 823, establishing the cathedral at the Monastery of St. Trifon on the Akritas peninsula, off Constantinople.

  

     He died on November 11th, 826, on the Principal [main] island in semi-exile, but after the restoration of icon veneration, his earthly remains were brought to Constantinople by Patriarch Methodius (843-847) and Empress Theodora (842-856), on January 26th, 844, along with those of brother Joseph, and were placed in Plato's tomb at the Studion Monastery.

Catechesis of St. Theodore the Studite

Exposure of the principles of monastic life by St. Theodore the Studite is found in his catechetical discourses, which parents and brothers listened to three times a week, after Matins. Of this we have kept a hundred and thirty-our catechesis, and selected later divided into a small Catechesis and a great Catechesis.

The great Catechesis numbers 173 and is slightly longer and sticks to the original. They have been prepared before the year 820, including acts that occurred in times of peace and inner tips on organizing a congregation, exhortations to the fulfillment of monks' duty to love one another, forgetting any general household needs.

St. Theodore the Studite

The small Catechesis number 136 written after the year 820, during the iconoclastic persecutions, in time of old age, and include teaching about the true faith, about the veneration of icons, the unity of the Orthodox, exhortations to courage and consistency under persecutions, and are therefore more concise, more thoughtful, and are generally cited more often than the others. 

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