Hodegon Monastery
The Hodegonkloster (from Greek [ ναὸς / μονὴ ] τῶν Ὁδηγῶν [ naos / MONE ] TON Hodēgōn, [ church / monastery ] of the trail guide, also Hodegetria Monastery, Monastery TON Hodēgōn or monastery of Hodēgoi called ) was a Christian, Mother of God ( Theotokos ) holy monastery, which was in Constantinople Opel east of the Hagia Sophia. The monastery said to have been donated by the Empress Pulcheria in the 5th century, according to tradition. The Hodegonkloster originally belonged to the Patriarchate of Constantinople Opel, but was transferred to the Patriarchate of Antioch in the year 970.
Written sources
Theodorus Lector ( Anagnostes ) reported the Empress Pulcheria had erected several churches, including one for storage and worship of a portrait of the Virgin Mary (see below Hodegetria ). This description is taken up until several centuries later by Nikephoros Kallistos again. In modern research the authenticity of the passage at Theodorus Lector, however, doubted.
From about the 9th century there are frequent references to the Hodegonkloster. So shall the later Patriarch John VII Grammatikos during the reign of the emperor Michael I ( 811-813 ) have been Ἀναγνώστης ( Anagnostes ) in the Hodēgoi monastery. According to the description of Joseph Genesios an omen in the "[ monastery ] of Hodegoi " had happened and announced the imminent death of Bardas in 866. As is shown in the Patria Konstantinopuleos the church TON Hodēgōn Let ( Greek τῶν Ὁδηγῶν ) of Emperor Michael III. been built or renovated; before had there found a wonderful strong source, were healed the blind man. Of the blind leaders, Hodēgoi (Greek Ὁδηγοι ), hence the name of the church and the monastery is derived.
An earlier in the 13th century created anonymously traditional paper entitled diēgēmatikos logos (Greek Λόγος διηγηματικός ) describes the history of the Church of the Theotokos TON Hodēgōn (Greek Θεοτόκος τῶν Ὁδηγῶν ) from a somewhat later perspective. In this work, the legend of the founding of the church will again Pulcheria; the Empress had received from Eudocia, the wife of Emperor Theodosius II, an image of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, which the Evangelist Luke is said to have painted during the lifetime of Mary - the icon of the Hodegetria.
Finally, Georgios Akropolites and Georgios Pachymeres describe the collection of Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus after the Byzantine reconquest of Constantinople in 1261, in which the Icon of Hodegetria was carried at the head of the procession train.
Also, on a map of Constantinople in some manuscripts of the Liber insularum Archipelagi of Cristoforo Buondelmonti, about Vat Rossiano 702, Paris NAL 2383, Paris Latin 4823 and Paris Latin 4825, the Hodegonkloster is ( under the name Odigitria, Digitria, Chiramos, Chiramas or Chyramas from Greek κυρα μας " our Lady " ) are shown.
Localization and archaeological findings
Where is the Hodegonkloster within Constantinople was exactly, is not clear safely. The presentation of the Logos diēgēmatikos and a mention of the monastery at Nicetas Choniates suggest that there was the monastery grounds in the immediate vicinity of the Sea ( Sea of Marmara or the Bosphorus ). According to written sources, especially the descriptions of contemporary pilgrims, the monastery was east or southeast of the Hagia Sophia.
Excavations in Gülhane Park was a niche rotunda and a gedeuteter as Hagiasma construction exposed ( approximate position: 41 ° 0 ' 32.5 "N, 28 ° 59' 6.1 " O41.0090328.985034 ), which might have been part of the monastery complex. Against this assumption, however, says that this area northeast of the Hagia Sophia is located, while the written sources rather suggest a south-easterly position.
Importance of the monastery
The Hodegonkloster was - not least because of the preserved there icon of Hodegetria - an important goal of medieval pilgrims and travelers who visited Constantinople Opel. In addition, the monastery housed a scriptorium in which appeared a number of identified writers.
Icon of Hodegetria
The icon of the Hodegetria is characterized by its own image program by the Virgin Mary carrying the baby Jesus in her left arm and points to the child with the right. According to tradition, the portrait by Luke the Evangelist was painted by hand and came in the fifth century after Constantine Opel. The icon was carried not only on processions and exhibited in the Hodegonkirche; the portrait functioned as a kind of palladium of Constantinople. It has therefore been placed in sieges on the city wall and carried on military campaigns.
Scriptorium and Hodegonstil
The Hodegonkloster had a scriptorium in which an individual writing style, the so-called Hodegonstil was developed in the 14th century. In the second half of the 13th century it was considered the only writing center in the Byzantine Empire, which could not afford the costly production of parchment manuscripts.