Iconographic arrangement in Byzantine church painting programs: Chora Church (Kariye)

The mature examples of Byzantine painting art in Istanbul and Anatolia are constituted by the works created after iconoclasm. During the periods covering the formation of Byzantine art in its entirety, it has been examined within my thesis whether there are specific programs regarding the positions and meanings of the iconographic interpretations within the monumental Byzantine painting art located within architectural structures, which constitute a large percentage of examples of Byzantine painting art, and this has been explored through the example of Chora Church. The entire painting program consisting of mosaics and frescoes of the Church of St. Savior Hora, one of the most important buildings that survived to today's Istanbul preserved as a late Byzantine work in the city of Constantinople, which was the capital of the Byzantine Empire for many years, is available in my thesis. Chora Church is a late Byzantine structure. The original construction date of the first building erected in the area where the Kariye Mosque is located in the present-day Edirnekapı district of the Fatih district is around 536. The last construction phase, which we consider as the fifth construction phase, dated back to the 14th century with the maintenance and repairs carried out by Metokhites. The structure, in its present state, in the kiborion plan type, has undergone numerous radical changes and has been used for different purposes. Its importance increased in the late periods of the Byzantine Empire. The panels within it are adorned with interconnected paintings while maintaining the integrity of the space. Within the thesis, it has been concluded that some rules within architectural structures have been made by examining the iconographic programming developed within the Christian religious context, based on the example of Kariye.