Tradition, whether it be that of the Greek clergy of Thessaloniki, or that of the authors who have described this church, is unanimous in attributing the erection of St. Sophia’s one day summoned the faithful to prayer by striking redoubled blows upon the semantron placed in the tower, and the Normans mistook this noise for the signal of revolt. 5)ĭuring the time that the Normans were masters of the town, the priests of St. Demetrius and also in the narrative of the taking of Thessaloniki by the Turks in the year 1430. For instance: in the letter of the Roman pontiff, Innocent III., bishop of Neopatras, 3) in which there is mention made of the canons of Thessaloniki it is mentioned a second time in the same letters 4) to which allusion has been made in the history of St. If we except the documents given by Eustathius and Comeniata, in other authors we find only a few short sentences relating to it. This church, though it held the first rank in the town, is but little mentioned by historians. 1) This explains why the erection of the castle and aqueduct of Trebizond, also the work of Justinian, 2) is not mentioned by Procopius. Procopius finished his book about the year 555 Justinian died A.D.
Procopius, who has written six books upon the edifices constructed by Justinian, does not even mention the church of Thessaloniki, but it may be remembered that Justinian lived ten years after the book on his buildings was finished. Demetrius, we are surprised to find that the cathedral of Thessaloniki is mentioned in their recitals only incidentally. When we find in Byzantine authors so many and such interesting details about the church of St. Sophia of Thessaloniki is contemporary with that of Constantinople, and certainly of the school of Anthemius, the celebrated architect and engineer who accompanied Justinian in all his expeditions. In default of historical information about the date of its foundation, we may infer from its plan, and from the details of the sculpture, that the St. Sophia still exist, and amongst the number the cathedral of Thessaloniki, on account of its good state of preservation and its fine construction, deserves to be classed in the first rank. The idea of consecrating a church to the Divine Wisdom does not appear to have been realised before the reign of Justinian but after the 6th century all the large towns of the empire emulated the example of the capital, and churches with this dedication were everywhere erected.
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