Constantine Lips Church

Few people know that Fenari Isa Mosque in Istanbul is famous for such an interesting and mysterious history. Indeed, in the past there was a monastery of Lips.

Birth of the holy place

The monastery whose age is about five centuries hides many secrets within its walls. The date of its foundation is indeterminate. Presumably, it was built during the reign of Constantine Porphyrogenitus by Constantine Lips. Later he had built a convent for ladies. The consecration of the monastery took place in June 907.
After the death of Constantine Lips the monastery fell into decay...

Christian life of the monastery

The monastery was restored by Empress Theodora after the death of her consort Michael VIII Palaeologus and became a table-tomb for the whole imperial family.
Many of the famous rulers were buried there - Theodora itself, her son Constantine, brother Andronikos and other members of this noble family... The monastery remained untouched until the end of the Byzantine Empire.

Fenari Isa Camii

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire the monastery was merged with St. John the Baptist Church, attached to the monastery in the reign of the Palaeologus dynasty and turned into a mosque called Fenari Isa Camii. The building is a real decoration of Istanbul to this day, despite the fact that it had suffered two fires in 1633 and 1918. Nevertheless, the building’s structure had survived and began to look even better after restoration in 1980.