Michaelion

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Quis ut Deus is inscribed on his shield. The stature stands in the former seat of the Military Order of Saint Michael (Electoral Palace, now University of Bonn
, Germany).

The Michaelion was one of the earliest and most famous sanctuaries dedicated to

Bosphorus strait
.

The pagan temple which had existed there had been previously associated with healing and medicine, and the Christians continued to associate the location and the Michaelion with healing waters.

Michaelion was a magnificent church and became a model for hundreds of other churches in Eastern Christianity.

Foundation

A temple called Leosthenion (

Istinye.[3][4]

According to a widespread tradition, current already since the 6th century, the Church of St. Michael at Sosthenion was founded by

Eastern Christian historian Sozomen recorded the devotions by the crowds at Michaelion and wrote of first-hand reports of healings at Michaelion, stating that he had himself received a healing.[9][10] The pagan temple had been previously associated with healing and medicine and the Christian tradition continued to associate the location and the Michaelion with healing waters.[1]

By the late 9th century, the church had fallen in ruin, until it was rebuilt by

Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886). As an imperial foundation, it soon eclipsed its rival at Anaplous.[11] A monastery was attached to the church at an unknown later date. It is first securely attested in the 11th century and is continuously mentioned until 1337. Janin hypothesizes that it was demolished in the 15th century, and its material used in the construction of the nearby Rumelihisarı fortress.[12]

Battle and iconography

A Constantine coin (c.337) showing his labarum spearing a serpent.

Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to become a Christian and in 313 AD along with his co-Emperor Licinius signed the Edict of Milan, allowing Christians to worship freely and build public churches, rather than worshiping in secret.[13][14] However, Constantine and Licinius later fought each other and in 324 AD Constantine defeated Licinius at the Battle of Adrianople, not far from the Michaelion - attributing the victory to Archangel Michael.[1]

Constantine felt that both Licinius and

warrior saint.[1]

A model for other churches

After the construction of the church a monastery was added to it, and thereafter four other churches in honor of Archangel Michael followed it in Constantinople.[10] During the reign of the next several emperors after Constantine, the number of churches dedicated to Archangel Michael in Constantinople increased to fifteen.[10]

Michaelion was a magnificent church and based on the reports of miracles there it became a model for hundreds of other churches in Eastern Christianity.[17] However, Churches dedicated to the Archangel in Western Christianity lagged those in the East for some time.[17]

As at the Michaelion, the association of Archangel Michael with healing and protection continued into the 6th century, when after a plague in Rome, the sick slept at night in the church of Castel Sant'Angelo dedicated to him for saving Rome from the plague.[18][19]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-84383-128-7
    pages 33-34
  2. ^ Dublin University magazine: a literary and political journal, Volume 76, 1870, page 130
  3. ^ a b Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie Ecclésiastique de l'Empire Byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines. p. 362.
  4. ISBN 90-04-11625-7
    .
  5. ISBN 1-898855-77-3
    page 36
  6. ^ a b c Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie Ecclésiastique de l'Empire Byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines. p. 359.
  7. ^ "Church of the Great Archangels, Sosthenion". Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Miracles of the Chief-commander of the Bodiless Host, the Archangel Michael, in Byzantine Times". The Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, Greek Orthodox Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  9. ISBN 0-415-20459-3
    .
  10. ^ a b c Butler, Alban (1866). The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints. Vol. IX. James Duffy. p. 321.
  11. ^ Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie Ecclésiastique de l'Empire Byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines. p. 360.
  12. ^ Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie Ecclésiastique de l'Empire Byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines. pp. 360–362.
  13. ISBN 0-8146-5313-8
    page 158
  14. ^ Catholic encyclopedia Constantine the Great
  15. ISBN 0-415-17485-6
    page 315
  16. ISBN 1-4443-3924-9
    page 159
  17. ^
    ISBN 0-7661-8144-8 page 92 [1]
  18. ^ Catholic encyclopedia: St. Michael the Archangel
  19. ^ Butler, Alban (1866). The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints. Vol. IX. James Duffy. p. 320.
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