ABSTRACT
Byzantine written sources make it clear that the church of the Holy Apostles, the burial place of emperors, was one of the most important churches in Constantinople after Hagia Sophia. From the late nineteenth century, scholars have used Constantine’s text as a part of their debates about imperial foundations, the form of churches dedicated to the Apostles, the nature of mosaic decoration and artistic practice in Byzantium and the reconstruction of the specific building. Constantine stated explicitly that the Holy Apostles was cross-shaped and that it had five domes, of which the central dome was the highest. Constantine’s account says nothing about the fenestration of the church, though a lack of references to windows throughout the poem is unlikely to mean that the Holy Apostles was a windowless building. In fact, what Constantine appears to do is come to a standstill and locate himself in the centre of the church under the main dome.
