I felt the same way when I visited England and Ireland for the first time and discovered that all the great ancient cathedrals had been converted into Anglican or Church of Ireland cathedrals. I feel the same way about Sacred Heart Church in Augusta, now a secular cultural center.
The renderings below show what the Basilica of Hagia Sophia would have looked like when constructed as the Basilica of St. Peter’s of the Eastern Empire and the Church of the East in Constantinople:
The Historical Christian Arrangement of Hagia Sophia
There has, understandably, been a great deal of focus in recent weeks on Hagia Sophia which, for most of its existence, was the patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), built in A.D. 537 under the Emperor Justinian. While it is commonly referred to a…
4 comments:
Ironically, the great powers of Europe were desperate to keep Russia from conquering Constantinople. If they had allowed that to occur, Hagia Sophia would be a Christian Orthodox Church today.
A couple(?) years ago Turkey wanted to join the European Union. Pope Benedict was against it and said that Europe should not disregard its Christian heritage. Turkey was not admitted into the EU. I have been wondering if this is retaliation.
Anonymous at 4:33
As much as I would like to think Pope Benedict had that kind of influence, I doubt his opposition had anything to do with it.
I had the pleasure of being in Constantinople 12 years ago. It was a delightful city and I greatly enjoyed my visit to the Hagia Sofia. I doubt I will be able to return, given the current climate there.
Living in England right down the street from Westminister Abbey and right next door to Westminister Cathedral I always wondering why the Catholic Church didn’t go to the EU courts and fight for their churches back. The abbey is so ugly inside and to be honest the cathedral is a cold dirty grey color inside and out probably impacted by the Protestant revolt.
Still my most favorite assignment of my long career in uniform and as a civilian. My son still lives there working in film. I most miss my local pubs the Bag of Nails and Albert’s pub after work and on the weekends.
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