Wednesday, December 27, 2023

It is the 27th of December 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

What do you think of when you think of “historic churches”? Perhaps something familiar and local to you? Maybe Notre Dame or other European Medieval cathedrals? Perhaps St. Peter’s Basilica- a project so large, the funding of it lead in part to the Reformation. But before all the medieval monuments, there was one church referred to as simply “the great church”; it was the Hagia Sophia- the great Basilica, which was dedicated by Emperor Justinian on this day in 537.

Even before the fall of Rome, the nerve center of the Roman Empire had moved eastward to Constantinople- a city straddling the Bosphorus strait- the dividing line between Europe and Asia and a significant strategic center since its founding in the 600s BC.

With Constantine the Great converting to Christianity and legalizing the faith, it makes sense that he would want the grandest church. The first Hagia Sophia was built on its current site in 360. The name- which means “Holy Wisdom,” comes from the tradition of wisdom personified in Proverbs 8, “does not Wisdom call out,” we read, and: “She takes her stand.” Then, later in the same proverb: “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works.” Read that in conjunction with John chapter 1, and you can see how Wisdom personified became conjoined with the person of Jesus. And, in a place once famous for its ancient philosophy, it would make sense to point to Jesus as the font of all true wisdom.

The church was destroyed, once by fire and twice by riots, before it took on its first “final” form on this date under the leadership of Justinian. It was (and is) an architectural marvel. It took some 10,000 workers only a little over five years to build the structure, which has the square footage of 3 and half football fields and is 180 feet tall, which is the size of the US capital building.

How to decorate the church was (and still is) a matter of contention. The iconoclastic controversies were especially contentious at this central church, and the issue was settled in favor of images at the church council in Nicaea in 787. The church was then filled with mosaics, paintings, and sculptures.  

The church became a battleground again in the aftermath of the 4th Crusade- that was the almost comical bungle of a Crusade that ended with Western Christians sacking Constantinople and taking the Hagia Sophia, turning it into a Catholic Basilica from 1204 to 1261 when the Byzantines retook it.

The church and the world were forever changed with the events of 1453, the taking of Constantinople, and its rebranding as Istanbul. But the Muslim conquerors did not destroy the church, as they were known to in other places. It was too grand a structure. And so the images were painted over, and minarets for a call to prayer were constructed outside the building. The name remained “Hagia Sophia”- wisdom being an attribute of Allah. It would become the model for mosques, and thus, when you see a domed mosque, you can know that it is based on the ancient church.

It remained the center of Islamic worship until the end of World War 1 and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. It was the founder and president of the Republic of Turkey who would have the say over what to do with the building. He was Kemal Ataturk- a proponent of adopting a European model for his new country. It was under Ataturk that the old Christian relics were returned and art uncovered. He was determined to build a secular republic and proclaimed the building to be a museum. Islamic and Christian symbols stood side by side, and discreet worship was allowed. It was the current president of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, who in 2020 courted nativists and conservative Muslims by returning the status of Hagia Sophia as a mosque, which it is today. Many of the Christian mosaics have remained, only being covered by tarps during formal worship.

There are perhaps no single buildings, let alone churches, that combine antiquity, grandeur, and a history that combines the Roman Empire, the Crusades, and World War 1 with major significance even today. So, we remember the dedication of the new Hagia Sophia on the banks of the Bosporus on this day in 537.

 

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary from the daily lectionary- the third day of Christmas if you’re counting- this the song of Mary from Luke.

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.


From now on all generations will call me blessed,
    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

    holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

    from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones

    but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

    but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

    remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,

    just as he promised our ancestors.”

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 27th of December 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who, if multiplied and stacked, would take about 30 or so of him to reach the top of the dome- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man celebrating the annual Swedish Smorgasbord today- I’ll be the one eating the mustard herring- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.