Hagia Sophia

The Church of Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a powerful and enigmatic church, not only for the extreme wisdom and detailed work in its construction, but also for its long trajectory of having been exposed through history to religious changes as well as reconstructions due to natural disasters, wars and fires that demonstrate its majesty and invincibility.
The story of Hagia Sophiadated back to times where Constantius II reigned in 337-361. Constantius II was the son of Emperor Constantine I the Great. Constantius II constructed a large church on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple in Constantinople. The building was consecrated in 360 AD, at the present site of Hagia Sophia. This original building was known by the name of Megale Eklessia that means Great Church due togiven its grandeur and for being probably the largest city in those times.
St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople and charismatic Father of the Church in 398-403, was removed from the patriarchal chair by his opponents. Then, this same year the first building of Hagia Sophia was destroyed by the fierce followers of St. John Chrysostom.
The eastern emperor Theodosius II (408-450) wasasked to raise again the temple, so the reconstruction was developed by an architect named Rufino. This temple was opened for worship in 416. Today it is still some remains of the second temple of Theodosius.
This temple, however, was again completely destroyed and burned by a violent popular rebellion that started known as Nike. Once put down the revolt in 532, Emperor Justinian ordered thetemple to be reconstructed again and using the services the most famous architects of those days Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus, although both were Mathematics and Physics Professors rather than Architects.
According to Cedrenus to the construction of the Hagia Sophia church began on February 23, 532, was completed in December 537, it means less than six years. The amazing part inits length of constructions was the little time that they took to build this church compared with others constructions with similar significance: for example, the Chartres Cathedral that took at least time 32 years, Salisbury that took more than forty years, and Wren’s St Paul that took about thirty-five years. One of the main reasons that made this possible was that there was no limitation onresources, so Justinian ensured the construction of Hagia Sophia never stopped while last its construction and he provided constantly materials, marble and money for its construction. Also, the fast construction was due to the large number of workers employed in the work incessantly. It is believed that over 100,000 workers were employed.
Several testimonies give us a clear picture of thegrandeur and magnificence of the work. The historian Procopius in his book on the buildings of Justinian tells us: "Who could recount its beauty? One might imagine that one chanced upon a meadow in fool bloom. For one surely would marvel at the purple hue of some, the green of others, at those which glow with crimson and those which flash with white, and again and those which Nature, like a painter, hasvaried with the most contrasting colours. And whenever one enters the church to pray, one understands immediately that it has been fashioned not by any human power or skill but by the influence of God. And so the mind is lifted up to God and exalted, feeling that He cannot be far away but must love to dwell in this place which He has chosen.”
In another passage from the book tells us thatlight, crucial in the construction of Hagia Sophia, not from the sunlight outside, but the illumination inherent in it. This magnificent set of natural light seen from the interior through the forty windows makes us believe that we are in a holy place where the look of the most sacred of the universe is contemplating us through its blessed shines. Also, the interior finished off with a series of...