Sts. Sergius & Bacchus

Facts

• It was the first church which was erected during the reign of Justinian The Great, and is 10 years older than the famous Haghia Sophia
• The church of the Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, a landmark in Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture, was founded by Justinian probably in 527, the first year of his reign. Procopius writes that the church of the Sts. Sergius and Bacchus and the church of the Sts. Peter and Paul, erected on the same site and in the same year, had a common atrium. The architectural type selected for each of these contiguous churches provides an indication of Justinian's ecumenical intentions. For the church of Sts. Peter and Paul, who were particularly venerated in the West, he chose the basilical type, a plan widely used in the western provinces. For the church of the two martyrs of the East, Sergius and Bacchus, he decided on an octagonal centralIy-planned building, a type commonly found in the eastern provinces of the Empire, especially in Syria and Palestine.
• It is commonly known amongst the public in Istanbul as "Kucuk Ayasofya" ("Little Haghia Sophia").