The Church of Mary is an ancient Christian cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary), located in Ephesus.
The church is dated to the early 5th century, coinciding with the Council of Ephesus, the third Ecumenical council in 431, suggesting that it may have been built specifically for that Third Ecumenical Council, during which the title of Theotokos for the Mother of Christ was declared Orthodox. The latest archaeological evidence suggests that the church was built on the ruins of an earlier Roman basilica-like building abandoned around the 3rd century, known as the "Hall of the Muses".
Around 500, the church was expanded into a monumental cathedral, whose apse and pillars partially still stand today on the site.
© Grewals Photography 2014