Hagia Sophia! The Church of Holy Wisdom!

 Hagia Sophia! What a beautiful name! It is the Church of Holy Wisdom, the Temple of God’s Holy Wisdom, to be precise, built eons back! During my first visit to Turkey in 2024, I missed the opportunity of visiting this most important place of interest in Istanbul. I told myself that day that I will come back to Istanbul, just to visit Hagia Sophia, which I did in August 2026, almost two years later. That was indeed a dream come true. But what is so great about Hagia Sophia? We will see.

Hagia Sophia (in Greek, ‘Holy Wisdom’) was a cathedral, the main church of importance in the region, for nearly 1000 years. In Latin it is Santa Sophia and in Turkish Ayasofya. It was built by Emperor Justinian in AD 537 in the then Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, otherwise known as Byzantine Empire. It served as the seat of Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was under Latin rule and was converted into a Roman Catholic Cathedral. It was reclaimed by Byzantine empire soon after. The Patriarch of Constantine was one of the five patriarchs of the Church before the Great Schism of 1054, when the Western Latin Roman Catholic Church got separated from the Eastern Greek orthodox Church. The other four Patriarchs were located in Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and the bishop of Rome swallowed up every other patriarch to grow as the mighty Pope!

Earlier to it in the same site two former churches were built, one in AD 360 built by Emperor Constantius II, which was destroyed by fire in AD 404. It was rebuilt by Emperor Theodosius II in AD 415 and this was also destroyed by fire in AD 532. The Emperor Justinian I commissioned the present church in AD 532 at the same site and it was completed in AD 537. He employed famous architects of his time, the Greek mathematician Isdore of Miletus and physicist and mathematician Anthemius of Tralles, to design and to build a magnificent church and it has stood the test of time until now, for almost 1500 years. It was ranked as one of the twenty-five most beautiful buildings in the entire world.  

Hagia Sophia functioned as a Greek Orthodox Cathedral until 1453, when the Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire and its capital, Constantinople. They erected four minarets around Hagia Sophia and converted it into a mosque, plastering over the walls and areas where Christian mosaics were found. Islamic calligraphy was placed inside. In 1935 the founding father of the modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, converted it into a museum for everyone to go and see and enjoy. The present President of Turkey, Erdogan reconverted the building into a mosque in 2020, opening only a portion of the building for tourists to visit.

                                                              Hagia Sophia  -inside 

                                                                           Hagia Sophia 

Hagia Sophia

                                                     

                                                         Hagia Sophia under renovation

Be that as it may, Hagia Sophia was and is an architectural marvel. Emperor Justinian’s famous architects produced this engineering magnificence. It has a great Dome, which is roughly 102 feet in diameter and 182 feet high from the ground to the peak. The first of its kind! It contains a ring of 40 windows around the base of the cupola or the dome, to let in light. This gives it a feeling of floating in the clouds. Such a heavy dome was made to perch atop the building without any support beneath, was a marvel of its time. There were pendentives, an architectural invention and these triangular shaped, semi-spherical corner panels transferred the weight from the circular dome to its squire base. These four corner columns of the squire structure supported the load-bearing portions of the dome’s base.  It allowed the massive circular dome to sit on a square base, these four massive pillars forming this square structure. It distributed the dome’s weight over the square and created an open vertical space, as if it opened into the sky. There are two large semi-domes on the east and the west sides of the church to support the central dome and extend the interior space. In the ancient world it was known as an architectural wonder of the world. Over the centuries, 24 buttresses were added to reinforce the structure.

The museum part of the church has a ground floor and a gallery level. The walls and floors are covered with richly colored marbles brought from across the Mediterranean. Green granite stones were brought from Greece, used up in the four columns supporting the central dome, and also over the wall panels.  A white and gray veined marble was brought from Marmara Island and was used for the main pillars, floor slabs, and basket capitals. Dark red and deep purple stones known as Porphyry and Granites were imported from Egypt, and used near the throne and inside for mosaic framing. Omphalion stones were used to form the concentric circles on the floor with multicolored marbles, where Byzantine emperors were usually crowned.  

Colored glittering glass mosaics were brought from various places of the ancient vast East Roman Empire. Byzantine mosaics were set at subtle angels so that the incoming sunlight and candle flames played on these and a shimmering aura was created that was a marvel to those who visited it. The softness and emotional depth of these mosaics are seen as precursor of Italian renaissance. Many mosaic pictures have been painted on the walls and corners of the church interior, most of which have been plastered by the Muslim conquerors, but still some seem to have escaped them and are visible to today’s keen visitors. I will try to describe some of them which I saw when I visited Hagia Sophia. 

          Section of Hagia Sophia showing the way central dome, and the two semi-circular domes

drawing of the plan of construction of Hagia Sophia 

 In the upper south gallery, we can see a 13^th century master-peace known as the Deesis Mosaic Panel, (Gk. Deesis - prayer or supplication to the central figure of Jesus), created in AD 1261, depicting Virgin Mary and John the Baptist pleading with Christ Pantocrator (Supreme and sovereign ruler, Christ), for humanity’s salvation on Judgment Day. Its background consists of millions of angled gold tiles that glitter with changing light streaming inside. This area was reserved for the emperor and his family, and court members during church services. Top half of the panel is still intact, whereas the lower half is almost gone due to neglect and decay. Jesus is seated, holding a book of gospel, his hand raised in blessing. Background is a vast shimmering gold, of thousands of tiny mosaics, tiny cubes called tesserae, made from cut stone, colored glasses, ceramic and clear glass, with gold leaf sandwiched between layers of glass. The Byzantine artists placed these individual tesserae at slight irregular angles into wet paste, so that each cube reflected light differently and the cumulative outcome is be to create a luminous, shimmering effect. That golden hue is still palpable today.

The Deesis Mosaic Panel

For face the Byzantine artists have used tiny stones the size of grain of rice. This made the face of Christ mild and beautiful, giving a life-like, soft painting-like appearance in the panel. John the Baptist has details of unkempt hair on head and beard and rough clothing, showing his desert life. It is similar to optical color-mixing technique employed much later in the 19^th century by the impressionist artists of Renaissance. Originally Deesis was uncovered in 1849 by Fossati Brothers, but it was fully uncovered and restored in 1938 by Thomas Whittmore, an American scholar in collaboration with Byzantine Institute of America, by meticulously removing the Ottoman plaster over it and bringing this masterpiece out for the world to see and admire.  

  The Empress Zoe Panel, a mosaic made in 1042 is located at the eastern wall of the south gallery. It features the central figure of Christ sitting enthroned, flanked by Empress Zoe and her third husband Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos. Christ is seated on a throne, holding an ornamented book of the gospels, with his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing. On the left flank, (the right side of Christ), emperor Monomachos is seen standing dressed in ceremonial imperial regalia, holding a bag of gold in his hand as an offering, symbolizing financial donation to Hagia Sophia. He is wearing a crown with hanging pearls. On the right flank (Christ’s left side), is Empress Zoe in elaborate jeweled attire holding a scroll that represented her endowments and donations to the church. It is stated the originally the mosaic contained the face of Zoa’s first husband, Romanis III Agyros in 1028-1034, and that she altered the face and the inscription on the mosaic to show the face of her third husband Constantine IX whom she married in 1042. 

Empress Zoe's Panel

The Comnenos Mosaic Panel, made in 1122 is located on the eastern wall of the southern gallery. It depicts Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus Christ in the centre, Mary wearing a dark blue gown and holding the Child Christ on her lap. He is seen with his right hand raised in blessing. Emperor John II Comnenos stands to Mary’s right, wearing jeweled imperial robes, and holding a money bag, representing his financial support to the church. Empress Irene stands on Mary’s left, in elaborate ceremonial garments and holding a scroll, wherein which her family’s pious benefactions are written. She is realistically rendered with braided blonde hair and pale features, highlighting her Hungarian heritage. Nearby is depicted their ailing son, Prince Alexios, pale and a picture of illness and grief. 

Comnenos Mosaic Panel

In the main Sanctuary and Altar, important panels are seen. The Apse Mosaic of made in AD 867 is located in the high semi-dome of the eastern apse, over the altar. It has the figure of Virgin Mary seated on a throne holding the infant Jesus. This is known as Theotokos (Gk. for Virgin and Child) Mosaic, the oldest surviving mosaic of the building, may be the first ever panel to be installed after the Byzantine iconoclastic period, during which all idols and images inside the churches were smashed. Mary is seated on a jeweled backless throne with a footstool. She is holding the infant Christ Child on her lap against an original 6^th century gold background. It is placed 16 feet high above the main altar, above and between the windows so that the natural light bathes the picture in shimmering golden glow.

                                                    Theotokos Mosaic Panel 

Some panels are placed directly above the grand doorways used by the emperors to enter the sacred space. The Southwest Vestibule Mosaic was made in 10^th century, may be around AD 944, placed over the exit door, showing Virgin Mary and Child receiving symbolic gifts from the Emperor Constantine on the right presenting a model of the walled city of Constantinople founded in AD 330, and on the left Justinian I offering a domed architectural model of Hagia Sophia itself that he built in AD 537. Virgin Mary (Theotokos) is seated on a backless throne with a jeweled footstool, holding the Child Christ on her lap as he gives blessings. Emperor Constantine the Great and emperor Justinian are dressed in imperial attire

 Emperors Constantine and Justinian with Theotokos

The Imperial Door Mosaic, a Byzantine artwork made in 9^th century, is located in the inner narthex (enclosed hall or vestibule at its entrance to the church) directly above the central doorway leading from the narthex into the main nave (the central principal part of the church, where the congregation is seated). It is positioned above the imperial main gate, reserved exclusively for the entrance of the Byzantine emperor. Christ Pantocrator is seated on a jeweled throne with his right hand raised in blessing and holding an open book in his left.  The open gospel displays the words, “Peace be with you. I am the light of the world.” It shows Emperor Leo VI the wise (886-912), kneeling in prostration in deep humility and submission at the feet of Christ. Virgin Mary on his right and Archangel Gabriel on his left of Christ are shown in circular medallion of portrait busts.

Emperor Leo VI at Christ's feet

Emperor Alexander Mosaic was created around AD 913 AD depicting the Byzantine Emperor Alexander (870-913). It is almost hidden in the upper eastern corner of the north gallery. The emperor is seen wearing the jeweled scarf, an ornate crown and red boots with pearls, holding an orb and a purple silk roll in his hands. 

                                               Emperor Alexander's Mosaic

   

There are also figures of four six-winged Seraphim, positioned in the four triangular pendentives supporting the central dome, painted on the triangular areas between the arches, the pendentives. These might have been created in 1347. The two figures in the eastern pendentives are authentic, whereas the two western figures are heavily damaged and reconstructed later as frescos. They symbolically guard the heavenly throne God and the Church of Holy Wisdom of God.

                                       one of the four winged Seraphim

These are some of the most important mosaic panels visible today. During my visit, renovations were going on in Hagia Sophia and I hope that at the end of the renovation, more mosaics of Byzantine art will be made visible by removing the plastering which covers it all now.

St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy, Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki of 8^th century and many other Basilica were built on the model of Hagia Sophia. It became the foundational blue print for two of the most important mosques in Istanbul, the Suleymaniye Mosque, built on the grave of Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Blue Mosque, built a hundred years later to be a rival to Hagia Sophia, situated just across Hagia Sophia. St Peter’s Basilica was built in 16^th century in Rome and Church of Christ the Pantocrator in Greece was built in 19^th century, both based on the model of Hagia Sophia of the then Constantinople.

What a wonderful journey it had been, to watch the interior of the Church and to witness even the fading Byzantine art of mosaic panels that have escaped destruction at the hands of Muslims. Surprisingly the mosaics of Virgin Mary and Child have survived, may be because, Muslims revere Mary as Miriam, the mother of Jesus, whom they consider as one of the prophets.

My long desire fulfilled, I walked out of the magnificent building, with satisfaction in my heart. Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ for enabling me to visit this grand and most superlative Cathedral of Hagia Sophia.