Reconsidering Agia Sophia on the anniversary of Constantinople’s fall
On the 568th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople, I was thinking of the legacy of Byzantium, all that it entailed coming to an abrupt end, when suddenly, my mind shifted to the Agia Sophia, and I can confidently say that out of all that which was lost by the Byzantines, the Agia Sophia’s loss is actually far less of a catastrophe than one might think, even when considering the conversion into a mosque just last year!
Now initially, when the announcement came in July 2020 that the Agia Sophia museum (formerly a cathedral) in Constantinople/Istanbul would become a mosque, I was initially dismayed, as I am sure you all were as well. “How could Erdogan be so inconsiderate to take Eastern Orthodoxy’s most valuable building, and callously turn it into a mosque, when there are hundreds and thousands more mosques in Istanbul alone? Is this not a blatant regard for history, culture, and all that which we hold near and dear?”
Yet, as the time has passed, and the “smoke has settled”, so to speak, I have come to the personal conclusion that in the long run, the Agia Sophia’s conversion into a mosque, and the aftermath of it, are a net positive overall.
First, I should make this clear: Agia Sophia the mosque or Agia Sophia the museum, it was already irrevocably lost ever since the fall of Constantinople, 568 years ago to this day in 1453. Would the Turkish government let the prayers be held in the Agia Sophia as a museum? Certainly not. Would they prioritize the Christian/Byzantine heritage of the building for all to see? Hardly. Renovations are negligible. So, while the conversion into a mosque was pretty sh!tty to watch, it was moreso a continuation of these realities on the ground, mosque or not.
Second, it’s not really the conversion into a mosque which I am proclaiming as a “blessing in disguise”, it’s the aftermath of it.
On 27 July 2020, Syria, with the help of the Russian government, announced the beginning of the construction of this new Hagia Sophia, in al-Suqaylabiyah, Hama countryside, Syria.
Syria to build replica of Agia Sophia
Now, a replica is nice and all, but my initial impression was “Nothing can really replace the genuine Agia Sophia, where the Eastern Orthodox Church was seated for hundreds of years, and in all its glory and splendor.” And while this is true, there is much more to be considered as well:
Al-Suqaylabiyah, the town where the new Agia Sophia is being built, is a Greek Orthodox Christian town of about 17,000 people, and it (as well as many other Christian towns in Syria) was on the Idlib frontline for 8 years, being shelled by Erdogan’s mercenaries. Many innocent civilians were martyred as a result.
Al-Suqaylabiyah: The Syrian Christian town near Idlib the West has never heard of
It was only in February 2020 that al-Suqaylabiyah was fully liberated from Erdogan’s mercenaries’ shelling, and they were finally able to celebrate their first peaceful Christmas and Easter since the war started!
The Syrian government, in general, is staunchly secular and tolerant of Christian minorities in Syria (especially the Byzantine Christians who make up more than half of all Syrian Christians) and the government-controlled areas were the only refuge for Christians during the war, in which they underwent a genocidal onslaught by Erdogan-backed mercenaries.
And not only were Erdogan’s mercenaries persecuting Christians in Syria, Turkey also substantially persecutes its’ barely remaining Christian minority (“barely” due to the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian Genocides, as well as persecution in the aftermath of them) while many of them even fled to Syria over the years! Such as the Greek refugees from Iskenderun in 1939, who fled to Aleppo.
WHEN GREEKS FOUND SHELTER IN SYRIA
So, Turkey has no right to act on behalf of Christianity, having persecuted, killed and ethnically cleansed millions of the Middle East’s Christians, and the Agia Sophia’s conversion into a mosque was nothing short of fully expected for Turkey to do. Meanwhile in Syria, the secular Syrian government takes care of (and protects) their Christian minority, and even defended them from Turkey’s genocidal mercenaries in Syria!
And therefore, the Agia Sophia’s re-construction in al-Suqaylabiyah in 2020 could not be a more positive thing. It shows Turkey (and specifically Erdogan) “You can try to destroy our communities in a brutal war, you can deny the genocide of our people for 100 years, and you can even convert our most sacred church into a mosque, and we will still defy you. We were born and raised on this land, Jesus Christ Himself lived, preached and died here, and we are His direct descendants, continuing His legacy here, 2000 years later.
We will not be weakened by your mortars and shells, for you bombed our town for nearly a decade, and as soon as you stopped, we rebuilt the beautiful Agia Sophia and even celebrated Christmas in peace, after you failed to kill us. We have every right to represent Christianity, and you do not, because for over 100 years, you have tried to murder, to assimilate, to genocide us, and you failed miserably.
Christianity will never die out where it was born. Syria will always have a Christian presence, no matter how much you try and continue the genocides of our forefathers. Anything you do, we will remain unaffected by it.
And that is exactly what happened here! Erdogan’s ongoing cultural genocide of the Greek legacy in Anatolia, failed miserably with the conversion of the Agia Sophia into a mosque. It told Turkey “You will not win, no matter what”, and transferred the location of the holiest cathedral for Eastern Orthodox Christians to a land in which it will be respected, honoured and persevered (Syria), not a land in which it will be mocked, ridiculed, and disregarded (Turkey.)
So in conclusion, though Constantinople may have fallen for good, Christianity in the Middle East did not and never will, and the new Agia Sophia is a symbol of this, for as Christ’s word is eternal, so shall His followers remain in all parts of the earth. That is why the new Agia Sophia in Syria is so important, especially on the anniversary of Constantinople’s fall.
