Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Livestream Services for the Glorification of the Righteous Olga of Kwethluk
    • Washington state targets priests, confidentiality of confession with discriminatory law
    • Archbishop George of Cyprus Speaks Exclusively to “The National Herald” on the Dethroned Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos
    • ‘The heart of Orthodox monasticism’: Historic monasteries on Mount Athos damaged by earthquakes
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate Issues Statement on Status of Saint Catherine Monastery of Sinai
    • Council of Nicaea anniversary is call to Christian unity, speakers say
    • Call for Nominations: 2025 Medal of Saint Theodora Award
    • Save the Date: October 11, 2025 – Frederica Mathewes-Green to Headline OCL’s 38th Annual Conference
    Orthodox Christian Laity
    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
    • Home
    • OCL
      • About OCL
      • Leadership
      • OCL News
      • OCL Publications
      • Focused Study and Research Topics
      • OCL Archives at DePaul University
    • Orthodox News & Links
      • Orthodox News Stories
      • Headlines & News Archives
      • Governance & Unity
        • Governance Top Stories
        • Governance & Unity Essays
        • Grassroots Unity in Action
      • OCL Forums
      • Orthodox Christian Laity News
      • Web Links
    • Audio & Video
      • Audio Index
      • Video Index
    • Contact
    • Make a Donation
    Orthodox Christian Laity
    You are at:Home»Governance & Unity News»An Appeal for the Restoration of Hagia Sophia: A Call to Preserve the House of Wisdom

    An Appeal for the Restoration of Hagia Sophia: A Call to Preserve the House of Wisdom

    5
    By Webmaster on July 30, 2023 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Telegram WhatsApp Copy Link

    Source: Greek City Times

    by GCT

    Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

    The Great Church of Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia, is a living monument to the glory of our Orthodox Christian Faith and a visible symbol of all that is best in the worship and liturgy of our Church,” said Archbishop Elpidophoros of America in the Archepiscopal Encyclical on the Day of Mourning for Hagia Sophia.

    He added, “Its seizure and second conversion to use as a mosque, on July 24, 2020, is a day of mourning for all Orthodox Christian People, as well as for all people of religious conviction.”

    “Three years later, we continue to hope and work for a return to at least the status of the Great Church as a museum,” the Archbishop stressed.

    Finally, he wished: “Let us pray that the House of Wisdom with Her canopy of light will one day be restored to a place that welcomes all people!”

    Read the Archepiscopal Encyclical on the Day of Mourning for Hagia Sophia:

    My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,

    The Great Church of Holy Wisdom, Hagia Sophia, is a living monument to the glory of our Orthodox Christian Faith and a visible symbol of all that is best in the worship and liturgy of our Church. Even after centuries of servicing an alien purpose, the magnificence of the edifice is unparalleled. Its seizure and second conversion to use as a mosque, on July 24, 2020 (ironically, the anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne), is a day of mourning for all Orthodox Christian People, as well as for all people of religious conviction. As is known, there was no need for Hagia Sophia to be taken over; there is an abundance of mosques in modern-day Istanbul. Rather, this was an act of political theater, using religion as a trope to manipulate the populace.

    Three years later, we continue to hope and work for a return to at least the status of the Great Church as a museum, which would manifest the iconographic masterpieces and the original intention upon which Her builders raised the stones of Wisdom’s House. For like the stones who would cry out on Palm Sunday if the Disciples were silenced, (Luke 19:40), there are manifold voices of the ages enshrined in Hagia Sophia, who even now cry out for diversity in the Republic of Türkiye, the diversity that makes the country truly grand.

    Let us pray that the House of Wisdom with Her canopy of light, or, as the historian Procopius says, “the golden dome suspended from Heaven,” will one day be restored to a place that welcomes all people. Anything less can be endured, but only by prayer and fasting. Until that happy day, let us build the House of Wisdom in our hearts, where, by love and forgiveness, we can always worship within the Great Church in our deepest souls.

    With paternal love in Christ,

    † ELPIDOPHOROS
    Archbishop of America

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp Copy Link
    Previous ArticleHow NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Became a Devout Christian Thanks to a Greek Priest
    Next Article UOC vicar of Kyiv Lavra released on bail and another UOC hierarch sentenced

    Related Posts

    June 17, 20251 Min Read

    Livestream Services for the Glorification of the Righteous Olga of Kwethluk

    June 16, 20254 Mins Read

    Washington state targets priests, confidentiality of confession with discriminatory law

    June 15, 20256 Mins Read

    Archbishop George of Cyprus Speaks Exclusively to “The National Herald” on the Dethroned Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos

    5 Comments

    1. nikolai on August 7, 2023 11:21 am

      Well, undoubtedly, Hagia Sophia should have remained a museum and not a mosque. Erdogan allowed the Muslim radicals to do this. He was wrong! However, Hagia Sophia was the great symbol of Christianity in the Byzantine Empire and that is long gone. For Muslims to do what they have done is to say to the Christian & Orthodox world … is not diplomatic at all. It would be a shame if some of the holiest Muslim sites collapsed. Remember, the Holy Spirit is “everywhere and fillest all things.” Our Orthodox faith is not confined to a building or buildings. Having huge edifices are of the past.

      Reply
    2. Cato the Elder on August 7, 2023 8:44 pm

      Nikolai,

      Erdogan is a thug.. He destroyed Turkey’s economy, was in a close election, so he gave something to his constituents that they could celebrate. Turkey is an Islamist State. It hasn’t been a good place to be a Christian for centuries. This building hasn’t been a Church for centuries. First a Church.. then a mosque.. then a museum.. then a mosque again. Byzantium is long gone. Almost all of the Christians are gone. Turkey controls what happens and even has to approve the election of the Patriarch. What kind of institution would continue to agree to exist under such circumstances?

      The Patriarchate should relocate from Istanbul.

      Nobody even knows where “Antioch” is anymore, but there is still a Patriarchate of Antioch. Isn’t it somewhere in war torn Syria.. or in hiding in Lebanon?

      The Patriarchate of Constantinople can be anywhere.. Mt. Athos.. the “New Lands” of Northern Greece.. maybe Crete. Why not East 79th Street in Manhattan? Isn’t NYC the Capital of the World?

      Are issuing feel-good proclamations like these supposed to distract from the Archbishop marching with BLM, efforts to revise the Charter of the Archdiocese, flying to Greece for a controversial “gay” event.. and returning to a Greek Island by helicopter to perform a wedding for another wealthy couple?

      What is it with these Hierarchs and wealthy families who see value in rubbing shoulders with each other? How do they imagine the dwindling numbers of devout “people in the pews” view these displays? They can have their destination events and go to the local church and priest.. save the planet from all the jet fuel being wasted on flying the American Archbishop back and forth to Greece.

      Is hubris a Greek word?

      Reply
    3. nikolai on August 8, 2023 8:49 am

      The main reason +Bart won’t relocate is because he is afraid of losing the title of “First Among Equals,” second Rome. Moscow could then make a real claim to become “The Third Rome.” Any historical significance of Constantinople would be lost. In fact, the entire structure of the Roman/Byzantium is long gone. Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria & Jerusalem are shells of what they were. Moscow supporting terrorism has disqualified itself of any world leadership. We really are left with America and the Orthodox in America have yet to get their act together. In 1970, the “GREAT HOPE” was the OCA. All jurisdictions sitting on a council with an elected leader as a TOTALLY AUTOCEPHALOUS CHURCH. The big obstacles of why this didn’t happen were the Greeks & Antiochians. FOOLS! Here we are 53 years later and many Orthodox Americans are paying hierarchs overseas for their oversight & direction. WHY????????

      Reply
      • Peter Ray Millman on August 9, 2023 9:40 am

        Hi Nikolai,
        I was listening to a speech Father Eusebius Stephanou gave at an Orthodox Christian Laity conference. Based on his criticism of the Bishop of Rome, I think he would strongly disagree with the title “First Without Equals.” Also, I’m sick and tired of everyone leeching off the US. Ethnophyletism is considered a heresy. I think parasitism should also be considered heretical. Of course, in order to become the Ecumenical Patriarch, one must be a Turkish citizen. They can’t attract the best and the brightest since there are very few Orthodox Christians living in Istanbul. The pool is too small!! Thank you!!

        Reply
    4. Cato the Elder on August 9, 2023 11:56 am

      “First Rome”.. “Second Rome… “Third Rome”.. really? Moscow’s tenuous “we’ve got the numbers!” claim to primacy died when Kirill blessed the killing of Ukrainian Orthodox people in orphanages and nursing homes.

      No one can find Antioch on a map, but still there is a Patriarchate of Antioch! Looking for Constantinople on a map today is even harder. There are probably more Orthodox Christians in Florida than in Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem combined. Arguing about which of these long lost centers of Christianity has “primacy” over the others reminds me of the Abbot & Costello comedy routine “Who’s on First?”

      I’m not sure +Bart is as worried about the diptychs as the financial and political support victimhood bestows upon the Patriarchate of Constantinople. What would the Archons of the EP do if +Bart moved to Northern Greece, Crete or NYC?

      To borrow from the +Bard:

      “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

      Reply
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Sign the Declaration for Orthodox Christian Unity

    Enter the Slogan Contest

    Share this page
    DISCLAIMER

    All articles represent the views of the authors and  not necessarily the official views of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL). They are posted to encourage thoughtful discussion on topics and concerns relevant to Orthodox Christians living in a pluralistic society. OCL encourages your comments.

    Stay Informed!

    Subscribe to our Newsletter

    WE WELCOME YOUR INPUT AND SUPPORT!

    Your donation impacts and helps advance the unity of the Orthodox Church of America.

    DONATE NOW

    THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

    Upcoming Events
    There are no upcoming events.
    Recent Comments
    • Angela Skinner on Orthodox Christian Unity in America – Papers in Support (New: See Paper No. 5)
    • Procopius on Leading Liturgists Reaffirm the Ordination of Women to the Diaconate
    • Procopius on How will the Female Diaconate Help Prevent Abuse?
    • John Fronime on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Nn on HAVE WE HIT ROCK BOTTOM? REFLECTIONS OF A NOT-SO-INNOCENT BYSTANDER [witnessing the present decline of the Orthodox Church as an institution]
    • Member on Ex-Clergyman, Sexually Abused at 17 by His Priest, Attempted Suicide
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Bonnie Belknap on Archbishop Elpidophoros Proposes Separation of Church and State in Greece
    • Luke on Egypt nationalizes ancient monastery’s grounds, fraying ties between Athens and Cairo
    OCL Archives Online
    Project for Orthodox Renewal
    renewal-resize
    OCL Digital Newsletter

    Subscribe to our Newsletter

    MAKE A DONATION

    St. Symeon the New Theologian and St. Photini are the Patron Saints of OCL

    footer-fnl

    Orthodox Christian Laity
    PO Box 6954

    West Palm Beach, FL · 33405
    561-585-0245

    Sponsored by Ann Souvall in memory of husband George

    DISCLAIMER: All articles represent the views of the authors and  not necessarily the official views of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL). They are posted to encourage thoughtful discussion on topics and concerns relevant to Orthodox Christians living in a pluralistic society. OCL encourages your comments.

    ©2025 Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) ·  Login

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.