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The church itself was described by Procopius as a [[basilica]], with two, or perhaps four, side aisles. The length and width dimensions of the interior are about 110 m (360 ft) by 52 m (171 ft), with a central and two side aisle [[apse]]s on the eastern end. The exterior length of the building is estimated as 116 m (382 ft). A [[narthex]] was located on the west end of the building which apparently opened to a small atrium that bordered the Cardo. With its large size the church rivaled in size the [[Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)|Church of the Holy Wisdom]] in Constantinople that was also built by Justinian.
[[Image:NeaChurchMadabaMosaic.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Nea Church as shown in the Madaba mosaic map.]]
The [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)|Church of the Holy Sepulchre]], the other major church in Jerusalem at the time, was located further north along the Cardo on its other side. These two churches are displayed most prominently in the famous Madaba mosaic map of Jerusalem that was discovered in the ruins of a Byzantine church in Madaba, Jordan, in 1884. This map is the oldest pictoral view of Jerusalem and vividly shows the two churches between which processions were conducted.
The date of the destruction of the Nea Church is not known precisely. According to accounts preserved in ''The Capture of Jerusalem (Expugnationis Hierosolymae)'' the conquering Persians and their Jewish allies destroyed the church and killed the [[clergy]] in 614. The extent of the damage is unclear as Patriarch Sophronius delivered his Nativity sermon in the Nea Church in 634. Further damage to the church may have occurred from an earthquake in 746. In 808, a reference to the church appeared in the ''Commemoratorium de casis Dei'' and, in 870, it was mentioned by Bernard the Monk who stayed in a hospice next to the church. In the tenth century, Eutychius, the [[Melkite ]] Patriarch of Alexandria, noted the Nea Church ruins. The damage by the Persians, in 614, may have been severe as the Persians may have searched for treasure believed stored within the church as speculated from Procopius' report of the Emperor Justinian sending sacred items to Jerusalem.<ref>Taylor, J: "The Nea Church", ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', Jan/Feb 2008, Vol 34, No 1, pp 51-59</ref>
[[Category:Churches]]
[[Category:Churches in Palestine Churches]]
[[ro:Biserica Nouă a Maicii Domnului (Ierusalim)]]
