New Glimpses in the Hagia Sophia

Despite the attempts to make the building an Islamic exhibition, take advantage of some new glimpses on your Hagia Sophia visit (Aya Sofya Camii). Once the largest church in the world from 537 to 1520 AD. As advertised: Once a church, Later a Mosque^[1]https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/ayasofya Still, many Byzantine sacred symbols reveal the past purpose.

Previously, I wrote about the items not on display and the Christian features in the courtyard. Now let’s look at what treasures we can discover on the inner ground floor of the Hagia Sophia.

Jesus said I am the Door!

When entering through any door, notice the pattern on the doors. They display former holes or shadowy markings of a former crossbar. Each entry formally featured a cross that non-Christians removed.

A Glimpse of Heaven Below

Entering the Muslim prayer area, the previous sea-like marble that provided much reflection of light now gives way to the carpet. Before, Byzantine worshipers stood to worship, and likewise, believers today can on their feet pray for the place’s grandeur to speak to hearts continually. Yet, regardless of the rug, a marble section remains on display – the coronation area of the Byzantine kings (called Omphalion). The beauty reveals the different types of marble used in the construction of the former church. Many historians theorize that these stones display the king’s coronation or a symbolic victory over paganism.

Yet, Hagia Sophia, which means Holy Wisdom ought to give us reflection about God and His Word. Firstly, godly wisdom is better than precious stones (Proverbs 8:11). Then the four Seraphim above creates a heavenly scene like Isaiah 6, where they cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of Hosts.” (6:3).^[5]All quotes from ESV Another heavenly scene in Revelation 21 depicts multiple gemstones and their brilliance, where a voice cries out, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.” (Rev. 21:3) The use of marble here may have been an attempt to reflect the heavenly kingdom. The exaltation of God in using these elements in this setting would humble any Byzantine king. Or maybe the Byzantines wanted to keep up with the Persians, so they added the marble. The Scripture describes the Persian palace as consisting of “marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones.” (The Book of Esther 1:6)

Procopius, Justinian’s court historian, viewed the church as a heavenly scene by describing “it as a golden dome suspended from Heaven.”^[6]https://www.thecollector.com/hagia-sophia-throughout-history/

A Glimpse Above

Passing Unlabeled Byzantine Furniture

After placing one’s shoes back on, turn right to visit both far ends of the north-south vestibules. A few unmarked items sit in the corridor in some of these spaces. A royal stand for teaching, a water laver, and a grave sit in some of these side areas. The purple marble came from Egypt, called porphyry, and the Byzantine rules made many precious items from this stone, such as church columns and the Emperor’s graves (located in the courtyard of the Archeology Museum).^[8]https://istanbultarihi.ist/690-hagia-sophia The water laver most likely previously sat in the Atrium as some of the fountains there were made out of “red marble.”^[9]https://hagiasophiaturkey.com/the-fountain/

A Mirror Image

Hagia Sophia Narrative

Mistakenly the 10th-century Islamic historian Al Masudi said, “Then the Christian religion appeared in Byzantium and the centres of learning were eliminated, their vestiges effaced and the edifice of Greek learning was obliterated.” On the contrary, the Byzantine’s love of art and creativity went beyond what Al Masudi’s religion could fathom. Christianity did not eliminate learning or deface sacred symbols, but many later Byzantine rulers forgot to honor their Christian foundation. The period of Justinian building projects to the house of Comnenus in the 11th century gives witness to beautiful buildings. The architecture exhibits soaring spaces and precision to detail a model that parts of Italy and Russia learned to replicate.^[10]https://www.britannica.com/art/Byzantine-architecture These sites, like Hagia Sophia, heighten God’s glory and allow the mind to stand in awe of His greatness – continually focusing on what is that? Clearly, Byzantine’s influence on coming generations came through their architecture.

The current narrative states: “Hagia Sophia, the magnificent heritage of the glorious conquest…”^[11]https://www.ayasofyacamii.gov.tr/en The portrayal reflects their viewpoint on history. Their story started in 1453 when their conqueror obtained the city and the church. They declare, “Hagia Sophia…. is restored to its origin” and a “souvenir”^[12]https://www.apollo-magazine.com/hagia-sophia-capture-constantinople-29-may/ to display Islam. For them, the origin is not the hidden Byzantine history but redefining the place as submitting to the conqueror. (For more understanding of the difference between God of the Bible and Allah of Islam, check out Searching Below the Surface.)

In light of this, the Hagia Sophia is no longer regarded as a church or described as a Byzantine site. However, on our visit, may we not just gaze quickly but have the eyes to see the story before us. The emperors desired to build for eye fixation to stimulate the mind to marvel at God’s beauty. So we would stand and worship, musing the cross and glimpse to obtain holy wisdom in this unique sanctuary.

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