Which Byzantine church in Thessaloniki is the city’s oldest surviving church?

The Byzantine church in Thessaloniki generally identified as the city’s oldest surviving church is the Acheiropoietos.

The Church of the Acheiropoietos was built in the fifth century, probably around the middle of that century. Its name means “not made by human hands,” referring to a devotional image or tradition associated with the church. The building is a three-aisled basilica with a large nave, side aisles, and an apse.

Its floor mosaics and marble architectural elements preserve evidence of early Christian worship in Thessaloniki. The church also stands on a site connected with earlier Roman and Christian structures, showing how monumental buildings were repeatedly renewed in the city.

The Acheiropoietos was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest, then returned to Christian use in the early twentieth century. It is now one of Greece’s most important early Christian monuments. Its age distinguishes it from later Byzantine churches such as Panagia Chalkeon and Hagia Sophia of Thessaloniki.