the most celebrated shrine to the Virgin Mary in all of Constantinople. The first church here was built by Empress Aelia Pulheria and was completed during the reign of Leo I ( r . 457-474 ). Inside was a " Moforion " brought from Palestine , which was claimed to be Mary 's dress The church burned down in 1070 . Romanos ( r . 1068-1071 ) had it rebuilt again.n the 19th century, it became a center where the administrative affairs of the Empire were carried out it was destroyed in a fire. Some time after the repair, it burned again in 1434 and was never repaired again.Today's church was built on the land that was land until 1860. The inscription inside states that it was opened for worship on January 13, 1860. The church, which was destroyed during the events of 6-7 September 1955, was renovated by the Istanbul Foundations General Directorate under the control of Master Architect Süreyya Yücel.