The Great Church

The Typikon of the Great Church of Christ (Τυπικόν τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ Μεγάλης Ἐκκλησίας) derives its name from the Great Church (Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία), the Cathedral Church of Hagia Sophia, in Constantinople. Until the 15th century the services at Hagia Sophia were regulated by the Typikon of the Great Church, and were characteristic of the Cathedral Office which differed from those of the Monastic Office. Gradually however, the Cathedral Office fell into disuse and was replaced by the Monastic Office and the Typikon of St. Savas. After the Fall of Constantinople, and the relocation of the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from the Church of Hagia Sophia to subsequent locations, the Patriarchate itself began to be known as The Great Church, regardless of where it was located. By the beginning of the 19th century the Ecumenical Patriarchate saw the need to publish a Typikon reflective of the current practices of the Great Church. The revised Typikon, based on the Typikon of St. Savas, came to be known as The Typikon of the Great Church of Christ.