A church restored

1.2

On the apse at Blachernae

Sophia’s husband Justin, man of god,

Whom Christ ordained to settle all aright

And granted glory on the battlefield,

Seeing the Virgin Mother’s house unsound,

Redressed its flaws and wrought it sturdily.

1.3

On the same, in the same place

The Elder Justin to God’s Mother raised

This beauteous shrine ablaze with loveliness;

The Younger Justin, ruling after him,

Granted it splendour greater than before.

The Panagia or Theotokos (Church of Saint Mary) in the Blachernae suburb of Byzantium housed some of Byzantium’s most powerful relics. Justin I and his nephew Justinian I restored it in the early sixth century and an imperial palace grew up around it, eventually replacing the Great Palace as the main seat of the Imperial court.