The Basilica of the Apostles (Polyandreion) in Constantinople was the "magnificent and wondrous" cruciform church built by Constantine the Great, which was described by Eusebius of Caesarea, who mentioned porticoes along the four sides and walls faced with marble up to the gilded roof. The church was rebuilt with a central dome surrounded by four subsidiary domes by Justinian and Theodora and was reconsecrated June 28, 550. Procopius and other historians and travellers also described it. In the 10th century Constantine of Rhodes composed a Description of the building of the Apostles in verse, which he dedicated to Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. Map of Constantinople. ... Constantine. ... Eusebius of Caesarea (~275 – May 30, 339) (often called Eusebius Pamphili, Eusebius [the friend of] Pamphilus) was a bishop of Caesarea in Palestine and is often referred to as the father of church history because of his work in recording the history of the early Christian church. ... Justinian may refer to: Justinian I, a Roman Emperor; Justinian, a storeship sent to the convict settlement at New South Wales in 1790. ... Theodora was the name of Flavia Maximiana Theodora, daughter of the Roman Emperor Maximian and second wife of the Emperor Constantius I Chlorus Theodora (6th century), Byzantine empress and wife of Justinian I Theodora (9th century), Byzantine empress in the 9th century Theodora (10th century), Roman senatrix and mother of... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ... Events End of the Eastern Wei Dynasty and beginning of the Northern Qi Dynasty in northern China. ... The writings of Procopius of Caesarea (500 ? - 565 ?), in Palestine, are the primary source of information for the rule of the emperor Justinian. ...

The basilica contained relics of Apostles Andrew, Luke and Timothy. The Basilica of St. ... Andrew is an English males personal name. ... Luke may refer to: Gospel of Luke, third book of the New Testament Luke the Evangelist Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars film trilogy This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Timothy (whose Greek name means to fear or to honor God) was a first century Christian bishop who died about 80 CE. He is venerated as a saint by Christians honoring that rite. ...

The Basilica was looted by the crusaders in 1204 and some precious objects from its treasury have been retained in the St Mark's Basilica, Venice. The Florentine Cristoforo Buondelmonti saw the dilapidated church in 1420, some years before the Fall of Constantinople. The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem by taking Egypt first, instead, in 1204, conquered the Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... San Marco di Venezia, as seen from the Piazza San Marco St Marks Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco in Venezia) is the most famous of the churches of Venice and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. ...

External link

• Brief history of the Basilica of the Apostles (http://www.patriarchate.org/ecumenical_patriarchate/chapter_4/html/holy_apostles.html)