The building now known as the Kariye Camii in Istanbul--originally the Church of Christ in the Chora Monastery--is among the most important and best preserved monuments of Byzantine Constantinople, as well as a pivotal monument for Byzantine architecture in general. This dissertation offers a monographic study of the building and has three basic objectives: (1) To provide an architectural analysis of the existing monument, the largest portion of which dates from ca. 1316-1321, in terms of planning, structural and decorative concepts evident in the building; (2) To provide a detailed structural history of the building through an analysis of the archaeological and historical information available, discussing the aspects of planning evident in the various phases of construction; (3) To determine the place of the Kariye Camii in the architecture of the Palaeologan (Late Byzantine) period through the examination of related contemporary structures in Istanbul and other important centers of the period.

The three major sections of this study follow these objectives. The first chapter consists of a visual analysis of the existing edifice, examining both the interior spaces and the exterior surfaces. As the building maintains to a large extent its Palaeologan form, this chapter also serves as an introduction to the construction of the ktetor (founder), Theodore Metochites. In addition, this analysis will illuminate the history of the fabric and the nature of the alterations effected over the centuries. The second chapter examines the early history of the monument, concentrating the major rebuildings of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Detailed observations are made concerning the twelfth-century building, as significant portions of it survive. The final chapter examines the Kariye Camii in relation to Palaeologan architecture, particularly the monuments of Constantinople and Thessaloniki. A coherent understanding of the fourteenth-century form of the building aids in the understanding of the architectural concerns of the period. Through this examination the Kariye Camii emerges in a more positive light, as one of the major monuments of Byzantine architecture.

The text is supplemented by two appendices: the first outlines the archaeological work and structural repairs undertaken since 1950; the second examines several pieces of sculpture from the building not previously published.