1. Historical Background of the Church of St. Anne The small church of St. Anne is in the eastern suburb of Trebizond, near the church of St. Basil. It is a middle-Byzantine three-aisled, barrel-vaulted basilica with a clerestory. The three aisles lead to three vaulted semicircular apses to the east.1 The interior of the church is adorned with wall paintings and devotional inscriptions dating to the period between the 12th and the 15th century,2 while in the years of the Grand Komnenoi the church was used as a cemetery church.3 Two inciced inscriptions have survived in the church. The first one is today exhibited at the Museum of Hagia Sophia in Trebizond and refers to a certain priest Gregory. It must be dated before the 10th century. The second inscription is situated above the southern entrance of the church and is of particular interest, since it provides information about the period when the church was restored. The inscription reads: Ἀνενεόθι ὁ ναòς τ[ῆς ἁγίας]
Ἀν[νη]ς ἐπì Βασιλεί[ου] Λέ[οντος καì Ἀλε]
ξάνδρου, στρατηγ[οῦ]ντος Ἀλε
ξίου κ(καì) (πρωτο)σπαθ[αρίου] τοῦ ἀνα[νεώ]σαντος τòν ναὼν ἔτ(ους) ςτογ΄. ["The Church of St. Anne was renewed in the years of Basil, Leo and Alexander, when strategos Alexios and protospatharios, renewed the church 6393"(that is, the year 884/885 AD)] Actually, according to the masonry evidence, the church must have been completely rebuilt in 884/885.4 As a result, the inscription provides the indisputable evidence that the church preserved today is the structure built in the last quarter of the 9th century, when Basil I was emperor and Alexios was protospatharios. However, it has been suggested that it was rebuilt on the site of a previous church. On the other hand, as regards the period when the original church of St. Anne was founded, there is deep disagreement among the scholars. Some assume that this must have happened in the 6th or 7th century, while, according to others, this happened in the 8th century.5 But there is no solid evidence justifying any of these views.6 Moreover, it is not clear whether the 9th century church followed the design of the original one.7 Besides, the original church had probably been built on the site of an earlier, non-Christian temple,8 which was common at the time. At this point it should be mentioned that there is a crypt under the church, which is inaccessible and it is only visible through the floor of the main church. Although the crypt has not been fully investigated,9 it is definite that it consists of quite large stoes, earlier used for burials.10 2. Studying the Monument The Church of St. Anne was in use until modern years. The first systematic research on the monument was carried out in 1895 by G. Millet, who recognised the architectural type and transcribed some of its written and incised inscriptions. When the French scholar visited the monument, the wall paintings of the interior walls were still in good condition. After Millet’s visit, architectural members (such as columns, capitals and additions) as well as relief slabs, probably dating to the 13th-14th century, were added to the building. Some years later, in 1903, Papamichalopoulos, while visiting Trebizond, noted that the church was not in good condition.11 However, in 1916, Meliopoulos had the opportunity to investigate, by order of the Diocese of Trebizond, the interior of the crypt.12 Τhe metropolitan of Trebizond Chrysanthos also refers to the Church of St. Anne.13 3. The Church in the 20th Century The church, according to an census carried out in the early 20th century, belonged to the parish of St. Basil and was still in use until 1923, while it was later used as a Turkish residence. The latter use probably accelerated the destruction of its wall paintings. While visiting Trebizond, in 1929, D. Talbot Rice noticed that several wall paintings in the interior of the church –previously noted by Millet– were by then destroyed. However, there were still traces of wall paintings in the exterior. When S. Ballance visited Trebizond in 1958, both the internal and the external paintings were damaged to a great extent.
The church has survived until today, but remains closed.
1. Μillet, G., ‘Les monasteres et les eglises de Trebizonde’, BCH 19 (1895), p. 443, pic. 17; Millet, G., ‘Mission a Trebizonde en 1893. Etude detaillee de quelques eglises’, in Millet, G. – Rice, D. Talbot, Byzantine Painting at Trebizond (London 1936), pp. 23-24, pic. 1; Rice, D. Talbot, ‘Religious Buildings of Trebizond’, Byzantion V (1929-1930) p. 57; Bryer, A. – Winfield, D., The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos, vol. I-II (Dumbarton Oaks Studies XX, Washington D.C. 1985), p. 219, tab. 164. 2. Μillet, G., ‘Les monasteres et les eglises de Trebizonde’, BCH 19 (1895), p. 437; Millet, G., ‘Mission a Trebizonde en 1893. Etude detaillee de quelques eglises’ in Millet, G. – Rice, D. Talbot, Byzantine Painting at Trebizond (London 1936), pp. 23-39; Chrysanthos, metropolitan of Trebizond, ‘Η Εκκλησία Τραπεζούντος’, Αρχείον Πόντου 4-5 (1933), p. 377; Ξυγγόπουλος, Α., 'G. Millet – D. Talbot Rice, Byzantine Painting at Trebizond, London 1936. George Allen and Unwin Ltd. (Courtauld Institute publication on Near Eastern Art, edited by W.G. Constable and D. Talbot Rice, I), 182 σελίδες μετά 10 σχεδίων [εν τω κειμένω και 57 φωτοτυπικών πινάκων εν τέλει’, Βιβλιοκρισία, ΕΕΒΣ 12 (1936), p. 463; Janin, R., Les eglises et les monasteres des grands centres byzantins (Bithynie, Hellespont, Latros, Galesios, Trebizonde, Athenes, Thessalonique) (Paris 1975), p. 257; Bryer, A. – Winfield, D., The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos, vol. I (Dumbarton Oaks Studies XX, Washington D.C. 1985), p. 219 3. Bryer, A. – Winfield, D., The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos, vol. I (Dumbarton Oaks Studies XX, Washington D.C. 1985), p. 219; Εγκυκλοπαίδεια του Ποντιακού Ελληνισμού. Ιστορία-Λαογραφία-Πολιτισμός, vol. I (Thessaloniki 1988), p. 21. 4. Bryer, A. – Winfield, D., The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos, vol. I (Dumbarton Oaks Studies XX, Washington D.C. 1985), pp. 183, 246; Moreover: Chrysanthos, metropolitan of Trebizond, ‘Η Εκκλησία Τραπεζούντος’, Αρχείον Πόντου 4-5 (1933), p. 376; Ballance, S., ‘The Byzantine Churches of Trebizond’, Anatolian Studies X (1960), pp. 142, 145; Janssens, E., Trebizonde en Colchide (Travaux de la Faculte de Philosophie et Lettres XL, Bruxelles 1969), p. 225; Janin, R., Les eglises et les monasteres des grands centres byzantins (Bithynie, Hellespont, Latros, Galesios, Trebizonde, Athenes, Thessalonique) (Paris 1975), p. 257. 5. About the possible construction of the original church in the 6th or 7th century, see Millet, G., ‘Les monasteres et les eglises de Trebizonde’, BCH 19 (1895), p. 444; Chrysanthos, metropolitan of Trebizond, ‘Η Εκκλησία Τραπεζούντος’, Αρχείον Πόντου 4-5 (1933), p. 376; Rice, D. Talbot, ‘The Messel Expedition, 1929. A Survey of the Monuments’ in Millet, G. – Rice, D. Talbot, Byzantine Painting at Trebizond (London 1936), p. 107; Εγκυκλοπαίδεια του Ποντιακού Ελληνισμού. Ιστορία-Λαογραφία-Πολιτισμός, vol V, p. 311. About the assumption that the original church probably dates from the early 8th century, see Rice, D. Talbot, ‘Religious Buildings of Trebizond’, Byzantion V (1929-1930), p. 57; Janin, R., Les eglises et les monasteres des grands centres byzantins (Bithynie, Hellespont, Latros, Galesios, Trebizonde, Athenes, Thessalonique) (Paris 1975), p. 257. 6. Millet, G., ‘Les monastères et les églises de Trébizonde’, BCH 19 (1895), p. 444; Chrysanthos, metropolitan of Trebizond, ‘Η Εκκλησία Τραπεζούντος’, ΑΠ 4-5 (1933), p. 375. 7. Ballance, S., ‘The Byzantine Churches of Trebizond’, Anatolian Studies X (1960), p. 154. 8. Millet, G., ‘Les monastères et les églises de Trébizonde’, BCH 19 (1895), p. 444; Chrysanthos, metropolitan of Trebizond, ‘Η Εκκλησία Τραπεζούντος’, Αρχείον Πόντου 4-5 (1933), p. 375. 9. Chrysanthos, metropolitan of Trebizond, ‘Η Εκκλησία Τραπεζούντος’, Αρχείον Πόντου 4-5 (1933), p. 375. 10. Millet, G., ‘Les monasteres et les eglises de Trebizonde’, BCH 19 (1895), p. 443; Μηλιόπουλος, Ι., ‘Τό Ναΐδιον της Αγίας Άννης’, Οι Κομνηνοί 1, 17 (1916), pp. 309-312; Chrysanthos, metropolitan of Trebizond, ‘Η Εκκλησία Τραπεζούντος’, Αρχείον Πόντου 4-5 (1933), p. 375; Bryer, A. – Winfield, D., The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos, vol. I (Dumbarton Oaks Studies XX, Washington D.C. 1985), p. 219. 11. Παπαμιχαλόπουλος, Κ.Ν., Περιήγησις εις τον Πόντον (Athens 1903), pp. 200-201. 12. Μηλιόπουλος, Ι., ‘Τo Ναΐδιον της Αγίας Άννης’, Οι Κομνηνοί 1, 17 (1916), pp. 309-310. 13. Chrysanthos, metropolitan of Trebizond, ‘Η Εκκλησία Τραπεζούντος’, Αρχείον Πόντου 4-5 (1933), pp. 375-378. |
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