Written by  Fr. Dennis O'Neill

He was born in Tauresium in Illyria May 11, 483. He was proclaimed consul of Constantinople in 521 and succeeded his uncle Justin I as Byzantine emperor in 527. He and his Empress, Theodora, were two of the most famous rulers in Byzantine history. Among other vast building projects, he built the current Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), which was the third and final cathedral of Constantinople built on that site. The previous two had both been destroyed by fire. Hagia Sophia was the largest and grandest church in the world until the building of the current St. Peter's in Rome. He died November 14, 565 and was buried next to Theodora in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, which was looted along with every other building in the city when the Crusaders burst into the city in 1204. Their tombs were broken into, and their remains were desecrated. Our relic was certified by Archbishop Marcello Mimmi of Bari on January 8, 1944.

Back to Articles