The inscriptions in the triumphal arch of the conch of the apse
a. The first inscription framed by wreaths of leaves, banded at the apex of the arch now reads: (Ο Ο)ΙΚΟΔΟΜWΝ ΕΙC Τ(ΟΝ ΟΙΚΟΝ CΟΥ ΚΑΙ) ΑΝΑΡΑC[ΙΝ] ΑΥΤΟΥ, ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΕΠΑΓΓΕΛΙΑΝ (ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΟC ΕΥ ΗΜΑC ΗΛΠΕΙCΑΜΕΝ ΕΙC ΤΟ Ο)ΝΟΜΑ Α(ΥΤΟΥ).
The source of the original inscription is Amos 9:6: «Ὁ οἰκοδομῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν τὴν ἀνάβασιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς θεμελιῶν, Κύριος Παντοκράτωρ ὄνομα αὐτῷ.» [It is He] that builds his ascent up to the sky, and establishes his promise on the earth; the Lord Almighty [lit. the Ruler of All] is His name.).
b. Similarly, the inner borders are decorated with abstract geometric patterns with fleur-de-lys and another inscription, which reads:
(ΔΕΥΤ ΕΙ)CΟΜΕΘΑ ΕΝ ΤΟΙC ΑΓΑΘΟΙC ΤΟΥ ΟΙΚΟΥ CΟΥ, ΑΓΙΟC Ο ΝΑΟC CΟΥ, ΘΑΥΜΑCΤΟC ΕΝ ΔΙΚΑΙΟCΥΝΗ ΕΠΑΚΟΥCΟΝ ΗΜWΝ Ο Θ[ΕΟ]C Ο C[WΤ]ΗΡ ΗΜWΝ, Η ΕΛΠΙC ΠΑΝΤWΝ ΤWΝ ΠΕΡΑΤWΝ ΤΗC ΓΗC ΚΑΙ ΤWΝ ΕΝ ΘΑΛΑCCΗ ΜΑΚ(ΡΑ)[Ν].
The inscription, with some mistakes of the restorer, was originally extracted from the Septuagint version of Psalm 64:4-5: «Πλησθησόμεθα ἐν τοπις ἀγαθοῖς τοῦ οἴκου σου, ἅγιος ὁ ναὸς σου, θαυμαστὸς ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν ὁ θεὸς ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν, ἡ ἐλπὶς πάντων τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς καὶ τῶν ἐν θαλάσσῃ μακρᾶν.» (We shall be filled with the good things of thy house, thy temple is holy. [Thou art] wonderful in righteousness. Harken to us, O God our saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them [who are] afar off on the sea.)
The letters which have been restored in painted plaster in place of lost tesserae at the time of George’s research are given in curved brackets and other letters in square brackets are added to comply to evident contractions. W. S. George, The Church of Saint Eirene at Constantinople, (Oxford 1913), pp. 48-51; R. Janin, La Géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin, I: Le siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Œcuménique, iii: Les églises et les monastères, (Paris 21969) pp. 105-6.
The Church of Hagia Eirene attributed to Constantine I in the Patria of Constantinople
(48.) Ὠικοδόμησεν δὲ παραχρῆμα καὶ ἱεροὺς οἴκους ἕνα μὲν ἐπώνυμον τῆς ἁγίας Εἰρήνης, ἕτερον δὲ τῶν Ἀποστόλων·
Pseudo-Codinos, Patria Constantinopoleos, ed. Th. Preger, Scriptores originum Constantinopolitanarum, II (Leipzig 1907; repr. 1975), pp. 139-140
The 2nd Œcumenical Synod in Constantinople (381) held in Hagia Eirene
ἐν ἱεροῖς ναοῖς αἱ ἅγιαι ἓξ σύνοδοι συνηθροίσθησαν... καὶ ἡ δευτέρα ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἐν τῷ ναῷ τῆς Ἁγίας Εἰρήνης,
Auzépy, M.-F. (ed.), La Vie d' Étienne le Jeune par Étienne le Diacre, (Aldershot 1997), sect. 44.76-7.