class powerpoint on the hagia sophia by mehmet at bilfen schools, istanbul, turkey

8/7/2019 Class Powerpoint on the Hagia Sophia by Mehmet at Bilfen Schools, Istanbul, Turkey

1/8


2/8


3/8

Hagia Sophia or Holy Wisdom is the mother church of all Eastern Christians of the

Byzantine liturgical tradition both Orthodox and Greek Catholic. Early accounts

suggest that the site of this, the grandest church in Christendom, in the first

millennium had been the site of a pagan temple appropriated for the service of the

new religion. The first church on the site was built by the Eastern Roman EmperorConstantius, son of Emperor Constantine, who had liberated the Christian faith

from centuries of persecution. Constantius' church was consecrated in 360 AD. At

first it was known as the Great Church because it was the largest at the time. Later

it became known as Holy Wisdom, a name attributed to Christ by theologians of the

4th century.

In 404 AD the church was destroyed by mobs set into action when Emperor

Arcadius sent Archbishop John Chrysostom into exile for his criticism of theEmpress. In 415 AD Emperor Theodosius II rebuilt the church. It too fell victim to a

rampaging mob at the time of Monophysite heretics in 532 AD. The new Emperor

Justinian, firm defender of orthodoxy, made short work of the howling heretics and

ordered that construction begin on a new basilica such as had never been seen

before. The construction work lasted from 532 to 537; the new church was

consecrated by Patriarch Menas on December 27, 537.


4/8

Architecturally the grand basilica represented a major revolution in church

construction in that it featured a huge dome which necessitated the

implementation of new ideas in order to support the weight of this dome, a feat

which had not been attempted before. The dome which became universal in

Byzantine church construction represented the vault of heaven thus constituting

a feature quasi-liturgical in function. In the days when there was no steel used inconstruction, large roofs and domes had to be supported by massive pillars and

walls. The dome of Hagia Sophia was supported by four piers (the solid supports

from which the arches spring), each measuring about 118 square yards at the

base. Four arches swing across linked by four pendentives (the parts of a groined

ceiling springing from the pillars). The apices of the arches and the pendentives

support the circular base from which rises the dome which is pierced by fortysingle-arched windows which admit light to the interior.


5/8


6/8


7/8


8/8

class powerpoint on the hagia sophia by mehmet at bilfen schools, istanbul, turkey

Documents