Church of Hosios David

Church of Hosios David
Όσιος Δαυίδ
Exterior of the church
Church of Hosios David
Location of the church in Greece
Church of Hosios David
40°38′30″N 22°57′8″E / 40.64167°N 22.95222°E / 40.64167; 22.95222
LocationThessaloniki, Central Macedonia
CountryGreece
LanguageGreek
DenominationGreek Orthodox
Previous denominationIslam (c. 16th century–1921)
History
Former names
  • Latomos Monastery
    (Greek: Μονή Λατόμου/Λατόμων)
  • Suluca / Murad Mosque
Status
DedicationDavid the Dendrite
Dedicated1921
Earlier dedicationChrist the Savior of Latomos
Relics heldIcon of Christ of Latomos
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeMonastery
StyleByzantine
Completed5th century
Specifications
Number of towers1: minaret (since destroyed)
Administration
MetropolisThessaloniki
Icon of Christ of Latomos,
mosaic of Theophany
Part ofPaleochristian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki
CriteriaCultural: (i), (ii), (iv)
Reference456-005
Inscription1988 (12th Session)
Area0.058 ha (0.14 acres)

The Church of Hosios David (Greek: Όσιος Δαυίδ) is a late 5th-century church in Thessaloniki, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. During Byzantine times, it functioned as the katholikon of the Latomos Monastery (Greek: Μονή Λατόμου/Λατόμων), and was adorned with rich mosaic and fresco decoration, which was renewed in the 12th–14th centuries. The church is dedicated to David the Dendrite. Many surviving elements of the Byzantine decoration are of high artistic quality, especially the 5th-century apse mosaic the Icon of Christ of Latomos.

During the Ottoman era, the church was converted into a mosque, most likely in the 16th century, until it was reconsecrated as a Greek Orthodox church in 1921, thus receiving its present name. In 1988, the church was one of fifteen structures inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki.