Hagia Sophia, Holy Wisdom Cathedral in Istanbul, Justinian's remarkable church and the onetime center of Eastern Christianity has been turned back into a mosque by Turkey's President Sultan, Erdogan.
Built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, Hagia Sophia was the principal church of the Eastern Roman Empire and perhaps its greatest monument, rising above the Bosphorus. It remained intact, a Christian Cathedral until May 1453, when Constantinople was finally seized after a 57 day seige by Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmet II.
The night before the city's fall to the Moslems, Hagia Sophia was full:
Meanwhile the great church of Saint Sophia was crowded. Thousands of people were moving towards the church. Inside, Orthodox and Catholic priests were holding mass. People were singing hymns, others were openly crying, others were asking each other for forgiveness. Those who were not serving on the ramparts also went to the church, among them was seen, for a brief moment, the Emperor. People confessed and took communion. Then those who were going to fight rode or walked back to the ramparts.
The next day tragically saw the collapse of Constantinople's defense and Mehmet's victory. Moslem soldiers entered the city and its great Cathedral, killing, raping and enslaving:
The great doors of Saint Sophia were forced open, and crowds of angry soldiers came in and fell upon the unfortunate worshippers. Pillaging and killing in the holy place went on for hours. Similar was the fate of worshippers in most churches in the city. Everything that could be taken from the splendid buildings was taken by the new masters of the Imperial capital. Icons were destroyed, precious manuscripts were lost forever. Thousands of civilians were enslaved, soldiers fought over young boys and young women. Death and enslavement did not distinguish among social classes. Nobles and peasants were treated with equal ruthlessness.
St. Sophia became a mosque after the Moslem conquest, only to become a museum in 1936. It's now a mosque again, thanks to the Sultanic aspirations of Erdogan. And as it was in 1453 so it is now, does anyone in the West give a damn, or am I an army of one?
At least Russia's Patriarch, Metropolitan Kirill has stepped up to the plate:
“A threat to Hagia Sophia is a threat to the entire Christian civilization and, therefore, to our spirituality and history. To this day Hagia Sophia remains a great Christian shrine for every Russian Orthodox believer.”
Kirill continues:
“One should take into account that Russia is a country with the majority of population professing Orthodoxy, and so, what may happen to Hagia Sophia will inflict great pain on the Russian people.”
Christians, wake up and defend the Faith. It's well beyond time.
Non Draco,
LSP
