The church was founded shortly after the iconoclast decrees of the eighth century caused a number of religious orders to flee the Byzantine empire and seek refuge elsewhere. Those dedicated to Gregory, bishop of Armenia (257-332), founded their place of worship in Naples on the site of an older Roman temple of Ceres. In 1025 it was joined with two other adjacent chapels into a single complex as a Benedectine monastic order. For a separate item on early Christian churches in Naples. The monastery still functions as such, retaining its high walls and maintaining a spectacular inner courtyard characterized by a central fountain with a sculpture of Christ and the Samaritan by Matteo Bottigliero from 1733.