Basilica of Saint John (Epesus)

The Basilica of Saint John (Greek: Βασιλική του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Θεολόγου) was a basilica-church in the historic city of Ephesus. It was constructed by emperor Justinian I in the 6th century CE. It stands over the believed burial site of John the Apostle. It was modeled after the now lost Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. The basilica is on the slopes of Ayasuluk Hill just below the fortress near the center of Selçuk, İzmir Province, Turkey and about 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) from modern day Ephesus.

Overview

The basilica was built almost entirely of brick and stones (ashlar), while the columns would have been made of marble or have been marble plated, to withstand the weight of the domes above. The use of timber-roofed towers that were placed over the bay preceding the chancel and the altar had been adopted as well since the course of the 5th century CE.

Much like the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Basilica of St. John was based on the concept of multiplying the standard element, using short barrel-vaults to expand the square, domed bay into a cross shape.

circa

With its resemblance to the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Basilica of St. John also took on the cruciform in its design. The basilica was a domed cruciform-structure, where the domes were placed over the central crossing, choir, transepts and the nave.

Architecture

circa

Tomb of Saint John

circa

Mosaic and Fresco Decorations
The interior of the vault within the church was covered in mosaic while the walls and pillars were covered in marble plates and decorated in different colors. The floors were also covered in mosaics.

circa

Octagonal Baptistery

Gallery Want to use our images?

See Also

• Ayasuluk Castle (Selçuk Kalesi)
• Isa bey Mosque (İsa Bey Camii)
• Temple of Artemis
• House of the Virgin Mary
• Temple of Artemis
• Eshab-ı Kehf Cave

References

• Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Ephesus". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
• Carlos Ramirez-Faria (1 January 2007). Concise Encyclopeida Of World History. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-269-0775-5.
• Plommer, H. (1962). St. John’s Church, Ephesus. Anatolian Studies, 12, 119–129.
• Dark, Ken and Ferudun Özgümüş. "New evidence for the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles from Fatih Camii, Istanbul". Oxford Journal of Archeology 21(4), 393 - 413, Published online 17 Dec 2002
• Krautheimer, Richard. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. Yale University Press. 4th ed. illustrated. 1992. 553 pages. ISBN 978-0-300-05294-7 Page 242-244.
• Foss, Clive. Ephesus after Antiquity: A late antique, Byzantine and Turkish City. Cambridge University Press. 1st ed. Illustrated. 1979 218 pages. ISBN 978-0-521-22086-6 Page 44, 89-92.
• Baldovin, F. John, S.J. (1987). The Urban Character of Christian Worship: The Origins, Development, and Meaning of Stational Liturgy. Orientalia Christiana analecta, 228. Rome: Pont. Institutum Studiorum Orientalium. ISBN 88-7210-127-1. p. 178.
• Zuzic, Marko. A Short History of St. John in Ephesus: The first and Greatest Metropolis of Asia The Cradle of the Hellenic Civilization A Nursery and Garden of Christianity The Second Province of God After Jerusalem with a precious Unique Common Christian-Moslem Shrine. Private Print: American Society of Ephesus 1st ed. Illustrated 96 pages Page 37-45.
• Foss, Clive. Ephesus after Antiquity: A late antique, Byzantine and Turkish City. Cambridge University Press. 1st ed. Illustrated. 1979 218 pages. ISBN 978-0-521-22086-6 Page 89-91.
• Plommer, H. (1962). "St. John's Church, Ephesus". Anatolian Studies. 12: 119–129. doi:10.2307/3642520. JSTOR 3642520. S2CID 162343685.
• Foss, Clive. Ephesus after Antiquity: A late antique, Byzantine and Turkish City. Cambridge University Press. 1st ed. Illustrated. 1979 218 pages. ISBN 978-0-521-22086-6 Page 92.
• Akok, Mahmut; Harrison, R. M.; Erim, Kenan; Türkoğlu, Selahattin; Jeppesen, Kristian; Erzen, Afif; Korfmann, Manfred; Naumann, R.; Vetters, H.; Bordaz, Jacques; Bordaz, Louise; Frei, Peter; Peschlow, Anneliese; Verzone, Paolo; Alkım, U. Bahadır; Mellink, Machteld; Müller-Wiener, W.; Radt, W.; Pelon, M. Olivier; Greenewalt, C. H.; Bass, George F. (1978). "Recent Archaeological Research in Turkey". Anatolian Studies. 28: 9–37. doi:10.2307/3642742. JSTOR 3642742. S2CID 246045542.
• Otto F.A. Meindardus. St. Paul in Ephesus and the Cities of Galatia and Cyprus. Aristide D Caratzas Publishers Illustrated. 141 pages ISBN 978-0-89241-071-2 Page 110-112.
• Zuzic, Marko. A Short History of St. John in Ephesus: The first and Greatest Metropolis of Asia The Cradle of the Hellenic Civilization A Nursery and Garden of Christianity The Second Province of God After Jerusalem with a precious Unique Common Christian-Moslem Shrine. Private Print: American Society of Ephesus 1st ed. Illustrated 96 pages Page 42.
• Foss, Clive (2002). "Pilgrimage in Medieval Asia Minor". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 56: 129–151. doi:10.2307/1291859. JSTOR 1291859. Yamauchi, Edwin. The Archaeology of New Testament Cities in Western Asia Minor. Pickering & I (January 1, 1981)Illustrated. 180 pages. ISBN 978-0-7208-0482-9 pp. 111.
• Anderson, William (2004). "An Archaeology of Late Antique Pilgrim Flasks". Anatolian Studies. 54: 79–93. doi:10.1017/S0066154600000570. JSTOR 3643040. S2CID 163569508.