The impressive church of the Acheiropoietos owes its name to the worshipful icon of the Virgin Mary, which according to tradition is not painted by human hand (‘Acheiropoietos’ meaning ‘made not by human hands’). The Church of the Acheiropoietos, the Church of Aghios Dimitrios and Aghia Sophia are the most characteristic examples of early Christian churches. The mosaics, murals, the ornamentation and the portable icons in the Acheiropoietos Church are a veritable treasury of sacred art. It was built as a three-aisled wooden-roofed basilica with a narthex and gallery over the ruins of a Roman bath complex. The Acheiropoietos is the first Christian church converted into a mosque immediately after the fall of Thessaloniki in 1430 by the sultan, who indeed, to commemorate his victory, ordered to be engraved on one of the marble columns the phrase:
“The Sultan Murad conquered the city of Thessaloniki in 833″ (= 1430), which is preserved to this day.
