Agia Sofia church, Byzantine church in Mystras, Greece
Agia Sofia is a Byzantine church within the medieval site of Mystras, Greece, built on a cross-in-square plan with a central dome resting on two columns. Three apses mark its eastern end, and patches of painted plaster remain visible on several interior walls.
Manuel Kantakouzenos, first despot of Mystras, founded the church in the 14th century; his monograms survive on marble plaques. A seal of Patriarch Philotheus from 1365 records its conversion into the Zoodotes Christos monastery at the founder's request. After 1429 the bones of Theodora Tocco, wife of Constantine XI, were transferred there, and Cleopa Malatesta was buried there in 1433. It became a mosque under Ottoman rule and a church again after 1830.
The church was first dedicated to Christ the Life-Giver and was the catholicon of a men's monastery, as recorded in a 1365 seal of Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople. The name Hagia Sophia was adopted only after the Fall of Constantinople. Theodora Tocco, wife of Constantine XI, was buried here after 1429, and Cleopa Malatesta, wife of Theodore II Palaiologos, in 1433.
The church is accessible as part of the Mystras archaeological site and can be visited alongside other medieval structures on the same grounds. Sturdy shoes are recommended, as paths are uneven and some sections require climbing stone stairs.
The two columns flanking the west side and the older architrave of the iconostasis, of which only portions survive, date to the twelfth century, older than the church itself. Monograms of Manuel Kantakouzenos are carved on marble plaques, and a seal of Patriarch Philotheus from 1365 records the monastery's foundation.
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