The Church of the Apostle John in Ephesus (AD 558)

After the apostle John’s death around 95, he was buried on Saint John the Theolo- gian’s Hill (Aya-Soluk Hill) in what is now the modern town of Selçuk. In the early 300s, Helena—the mother of Constantine the Great—built a four-posted, dome-covered wooden canopy was over John’s tomb. In the early 400s, emperor Theodosius II built a large basilica church around John’s tomb, but it was badly damaged by earthquakes.

In 548, emperor Justinian and empress Theodora built the cross- shaped, six-domed church that can be seen today reconstructed, with the largest dome over John’s tomb. The monograms of Justinian and Theodora are visible on the top of the columns separating the nave and the side aisles.