Church of Christ Pantognostis

The Church of Christ All-Knowing (Greek: Χριστός Παντογνώστης, Christós Pantognóstis) is an Orthodox Christian imperial basilica in the Blachernae district of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, and the epitome of the Laskarid renaissance and 13th and 14th century Byzantine architecture revival.
The church was first built between 1269 and 1277 at the command of Byzantine emperor Theodore II Laskaris to commemorate Byzantine victories over the Mongols, Crusaders and Bulgarians, and to celebrate knowledge and learning, which the emperor deemed to be the most important and incorruptible aspects of the Christian soul and eternity in the temporal plane.
The Church of Christ All-Knowing was modelled after the patriarchal basilica of Hagia Sophia, as many other churches of Constantinople. Following earthquakes in 1323, 1331 and 1346, the church suffered significant structural damage and part of its imponent dome finally collapsed in the deleterious 1354 earthquake, which also destroyed the town of Kallipolis and caused damage to other buildings and the walls at Constantinople. The basilica was extensively renovated and enlarged in the years following the Kallipolis earthquake. It is the third largest church of Constantinople, after the Hagia Sophia and the Church of the Holy Apostles.
A monastery and nunnery dedicated to Christ All-Knowing were also established by Theodore II Laskaris in a religious complex next to the basilica, which was the site of the secretive meeting between the monk John-Eusebios and the empress Eudoxia Laskarina during the Constantinople bread riots in 1312.
==Burials==
The Laskarid imperial mausoleum is part of the basilica complex, as desired by emperor Theodore II. All Laskarid rulers and consorts are buried there. A separate mausoleum was constructed in the reign of Romanos V Melissenos to serve as the Melissenid imperial mausoleum. A number of Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople and relevant generals and statesmen are also buried in the basilica complex.
Category:Landmarks