Hagia Sophia: The Great Church of Byzantia

Riding on the ferry to and from the Princes' Islands last week gave me a different perspective on Hagia Sophia in New Rome, that great church that was the largest in the world until St.

Peter's was built in Old Rome. Leaving the Istanbul terminal, the ferry skirts the coastline, with the

Bosporus to your back, the Golden Horn to your right. The ferry is moving into

the largeness of the Sea of Marmara, and you are immediately surrounded by large ocean going vessels. You see at once the importance of this piece of real estate, and how it has impacted trade and fortunes, and why much blood has been spilled in it.

And, on that high hill on your right, between the Golden Horn and the Sea, stands Hagia Sophia. In the thousand years of the great Byzantine Empire this magnificent structure would have been the one thing that would stand out. In the days of Constantinople it would have been framed by the Imperial buildings (fitting when

you consider the healthy relationship between Church and State that we don't have or understand in our country) of the Empire. Whether one was a sailor returning home, a fisherman

tending his nets, or a stranger just passing through en route to the Black Sea or the Mediterranean, one could not help but be touched by the appearance of such a grand sight. What a lighthouse is to a ship, this beacon of hope was to a soul. The view lingers for a long time regardless of which direction one is going.

When I approached on foot I did not know what to expect. It is huge. It is beautiful. After passing the minarets (that were built around it after the Empire fell into Ottoman hands), and after passing through the ticket line (for now it has been reduced to a tourist attraction) I found myself inside. The huge entry way stones are worn down from centuries of use. It epitomizes Orthodox worship. It is open, and expansive, and it does appear to reach to heaven. The dome is 101 feet in diameter, and 160 feet tall. Thankfully, many Orthodox mosaics have survived. (Apparently, it was easier to plaster over them than it was to destroy them.) The sight of this place in the midst of a Divine Liturgy, with thousands of singers, and thousands of worshippers (including the Emperor) was enough of a sight turn Russia to Orthodoxy. I believe it. A couple of days later I was in St. George's Church at the Patriarchate for a Divine Liturgy on St. Andrew's feast day. It was overwhelming. How much more would such a service have been in such a grand place. In our world we marvel over thousands in attendance at a sporting event, or the light and sound show of a rock concert. How much more is the spectacle of something that really means something.