The
church has the features of a monastic building. The naos is triconch in plan,
covered with a dome. To the right and left of the east apse, two more semicircular
structures are attached. To the west of the naos there is the spacious narthex,
surrounded by an exterior peristyle along the three sides. At the east ends of
the north and south peristyle there are two chapels, each roofed with a dome.
Of the church's interior wall paintings very few fragments survive today, especially
in the narthex.
The church was the catholicon (main church) of a monastery, dated
to the 14th century A.D. The monastery was once thought to be the Nea Moni but
later it was identified as the Monastery of Akapnios, dedicated to Christ. The
church was converted into a mosque after 1430 and restored to Christian worship
after the liberation of the city in 1912. During the turkish occupation, practically
all the frescoes of the church were stripped away.
Excavations in the monument's precinct were carried out in the years
1987-1991.
During the Turkish occupation, the monument was reinforced with colossal
buttresses, due to serious stability problems. Its present form is the result
of a series of restorations and interventions which were completed in 1961.
The monument today is used as a church.
