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St. Philippe Martyrion
St. Philippe artyrion
This th century church, which housed the remains
of St. Phillippe, who was martyred in the city, is the
most important cult structure in Hierapolis from the
Christian era. The architects who were commissioned
to build the church had already completed the
magnicent palace in Constantinople, and for the
church of St. Phillippe they created an ingenious
design based on the symbolic importance of the
number eight. Eight rectangular structures open
onto a central, octagonal space. rnaments are
themselves laid on octagonal marble panels, and
roundels on the travertine blocks bear the symbols
of Christianity. The whole church structure was set
on a rectangular plan and rooms ran along the
edges of the rectangle.
Pillared Church
The church in the centre of Hierapolis, where the
rst representative of the young religion was Philip
the Apostle, was built in the 7th century AD. The
structure with its three naves is very impressive. The
religious importance of Hierapolis in the Byzantine
era is indicated by the presence of a second three
nave church in the city centre and a single apse
church to the north.
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