By the decision of the State Council of Turkey, and on the initiative of the Turkish authoritarian president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople became a mosque again after 89 years. Despite numerous appeals from Orthodox countries, Europe and the world not to do so, the Turkish authorities have decided to turn this 6th-century Christian shrine into a place of prayer for Muslims.
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Agia Sophia was built in the period from 532 to 537, during the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I, on the site where the temple of the same name used to be. The coronations of the Roman emperors and the ordination of the patriarchs of Constantinople took place in Hagia Sophia. It was the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate until 1204 and until the crusade conquest of Constantinople, after which it was converted into a Roman Catholic place of worship.
After the liberation of Constantinople in 1261 and the renewal of the Roman Empire, it became an Orthodox shrine again and remained so until May 29, 1453, when the Ottoman forces under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople. After the capture of Constantinople in Agia Sophia, the Turkish ruler performed a prayer and ordered that the temple be turned into a mosque.
Until 1931, Agia Sophia was a mosque, and then it was secularized, and in 1935, during the time of Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, it was turned into a museum.
After the liberation of Constantinople in 1261 and the renewal of the Roman Empire, it became an Orthodox shrine again and remained so until May 29, 1453, when the Ottoman forces under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople. After the capture of Constantinople in Agia Sophia, the Turkish ruler performed a prayer and ordered that the temple be turned into a mosque.
Until 1931, Agia Sophia was a mosque, and then it was secularized, and in 1935, during the time of Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, it was turned into a museum.
It’s a very sad day for all of us Christians and a big shame on the entire world which seems completely powerless in returning one of our holiest sites to us for centuries.
It is so important to keep the memory of the desecration of Hagia Sophia alive.
Never stop praying for our church to be returned to us. We may not live to see the day but rest assured that with God’s Grace, one day, our patriarch will once again celebrate the Divine Liturgy in this magnificent Church!