During a visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine along with his entourage visited the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Blacherna, the historic site of the miracle of the Intercession.
The press service of the OCU reported this on its website.
The ancient temple of the Byzantine period, which was the main Theotokos temple of Constantinople, was destroyed, but in its place, a small temple was restored, part of which preserves the remains of the historic shrine. The temple hosts a revered spring and an icon of the Holy Virgin.
Here the Primate offered a prayer for Ukraine, for victory over the Russian aggressor, and a just peace, as well as for church unity.
After that, His Beatitude Bishop and members of the delegation visited the temple of the former monastery of the Savior “in the Fields”, also known as the temple in Chora and the Karye mosque. This site is an outstanding monument of history and art, preserving unique mosaics and paintings from the Byzantine period. After a long restoration, the monument was recently reopened for viewing, no longer as a museum, but as an active mosque (an Islamic prayer room occupies part of the building).
