[5] After Mehmed II conquered the city in 1461, the church was possibly converted into a mosque and its frescos covered in whitewash.

It is likely that the monks gradually abandoned a building that failed to protect them from harassment and predation, and the Turks assumed its use without needing to expel them.

During World War I the city was occupied by the Russian military and for the first time the church could be examined by archaeologists, including Fyodor Uspensky, and some preliminary cleaning of the wall paintings began.

The church was built with a cross-in-square plan, but with an exterior form that takes the shape of a cross thanks to prominent north and south porches.

External stone figurative reliefs and other ornamenting is in keeping with local traditions found in Armenia and Georgia.

On 5 July 2013, the former church was partially converted for a while into a mosque according to the local Vakif Direction of Trabzon, which is the owner of the estate.

A report drafted by the local union of architects heavily criticized the 2013 mosque conversion, and a court ordered the ministry of religious affairs to fulfill its promise and make the frescoes visible outside prayer time.

[citation needed] The church figures prominently and has key significance for the lead character's spiritual development in Rose Macaulay's novel The Towers of Trebizond.