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Iconography & Sacred Art

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia, by Unknown author, circa 1118 AD
Comnenus mosaics Hagia Sophia Unknown author, circa 1118 AD Public domain

The great church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople, built by Emperor Justinian (537 AD). For nearly 1,000 years the largest church in the world. Its mosaics (Christ Pantocrator, Deesis, Theotokos) are masterpieces of Byzantine art. Converted to a mosque (1453), then a museum (1934), then a mosque again (2020). Remains a symbol of Orthodox civilization.

Sources

  • Procopius, On Buildings (De Aedificiis) I.1 (Byzantine eyewitness, 527-565 AD)
  • Patriarch Germanos of Constantinople, Commentary on the Divine Liturgy (on sacred space)
  • Ecumenical Patriarchate, Statement on Hagia Sophia (2020)

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