SAINT IRENE (AYA IRINI)
The current church, dedicated to Divine Peace (Eirene), was built in 537 under Emperor Justinian, at the same time as the Basilica of Saint Sophia. According to the historian Socrates, it occupies the site of a 3rd century church, itself built on buildings from Roman times. Sainte-Irène has a synthronon, in the form of semi-circular steps placed in the apse, where the patriarch and priests used to sit. This location was found in most early Christian churches. Not having been transformed into a mosque after the capture of Constantinople in 1453, the monument has not undergone any significant modification. For a long time, Sainte-Irène was used as an arsenal or warehouse for war booty. In 1846, Damat Maehmet Ferit Paşa used Sainte-Irène to display weapons, archaeological finds and Islamic art. A large part of these pieces were transferred in 1875 to the Faïences kiosk and, from 1908, it became a military museum. Later abandoned, it was restored to become a unit under the direction of the management of the Musée de Sainte-Sophie.
