Hidden beneath a thin layer of Islamic art in the dome of the Hagia Sophia, if it still exists, is an icon of the Cristo Pantocrator.
Dome of the Hagia Sophia.
The Cristo Pantocrator is a largely unknown theme of representing Christ in Western Christianity. It is, however, popular with Orthodox Christianity. Pantocrator is the Greek translation of the Hebrew El Shaddai, which in English means Almighty or Omnipotent. The word appears several times in the Book of Revelation to describe God, but not Christ specifically. As a title to Christ, it depicts him as judge of humanity.
Cristo Pantocrator
As to why such a Christian theme ended up covered under an Islamic veneer can be explained by a little history. By 1453, the Turks invaded Constantinople. As a symbol of Turkish/Islamic superiority over the Byzantines/Christians, Sultan Mehmed II converted the Hagia Sophia, grandest church of all Christendom, into a mosque.
The Islamization of the church lasted about 400 years. Mosaics were plastered over. Crosses were removed. Minarets were added. Giant discs bearing the name of Allah, Muhammad, and the four caliphs were hung on the columns.
Yet the Hagia Sophia did not remain a mosque. In 1953, about 20 years from the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and about 500 years from the time it became a mosque, the Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum. No longer Muslim or Christian, it served as a beacon of secularism symbolizing the current state of Turkey.
The carpets were removed, exposing the marble floor unseen for centuries. The plaster covering the mosaics were gradually peeled off by expert restorers.
John Crysostom, Early Church Father (Restored Mosaic in the Hagia Sophia)
Emperor Bowing Before the Pantocrator (Restored Mosaic in the Hagia Sophia)
Yet a controversy is still under way on whether to expose the image of Cristo Pantocrator in the dome of the Hagia Sophia. Exposing it would mean the destruction of Islamic themes, which would not only offend Muslims it would also be erasing part of the history of the transformation of the church, or of the history of Turkey itself.
Other voices are more radical. They want to restore the Hagia Sophia into a church once again. Some even say that restoration of the church back into Orthodox hands should be a prerequisite for Turkey to join the European Union. Yet this ignores numerous mosques converted into churches in Spain.
I leave the decision to God, and pray that the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) of Cristo Pantocrator settle the controversy of the nations…
June 11th, 2010 at 7:15 am
I feel that we should be so very thankful to the Muslim world because they did not tear down this amazing church. You know that they could have. So I thank all Muslims for their obvious love of beauty and preserving the church so that I may stand in wonder before two worlds.
August 19th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
On the previous post.
Muslim world did not destroy it only because they used it. They could not build anything even close at the time.
Regarding the “love of beauty” comment – oh! come on! Please, look at it once again and (eventually) see what they have done to it!
January 21st, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Keep up the nice work on the blog. Do like it! :p Could maybe use some more updates more often, but i am sure that you have got better or other things to do like we all do. =p
January 27th, 2011 at 7:13 am
I have been there this past August. Two things impressed me. The first was the confusion about the sense of space when one is in the center of the Hagia Sophia. There is nothing that encourages one to look at the dome. It felt to me that the ceiling was only a few feet above my head. So very different from other churches around the world that I have been in.
The second thing that impressed me is just how dirty the walls are. One can sense the centuries of dust that have covered the marble. What kick it would be to get lots of soap and water and wash just one small part of a wall to compare what that wall looked like when the church was built.