Lamentation

24 July 2020 Chant, History, Moments in Time, Prayer

Today we mourn the re-conversion of the great mother church of the East to a mosque. In doing so, we are in union with both Catholic and Orthodox bishops. From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is inviting all Christians and people of goodwill to join in a Day of Mourning on Friday, July 24 for the conversion of the #HagiaSophia in Istanbul back into a mosque after serving for over eighty years as a museum. The museum was a place of encounter and dialogue between people of all faiths and cultures.
The Greek Orthodox have asked that every Church toll its bells, every flag be raised to half-mast and that the Akathist Hymn is chanted in the evening. For Catholics unfamiliar with the Akathist Hymn, the recitation of the Rosary is recommended, as both prayers entreat the Mother of God for her intercession.

https://www.goarch.org/-/july-24-day-of-mourning
(source)

And what is Hagia Sofia? It was once the largest church in Christendom. Its name means “Holy Wisdom”, and it was dedicated in the year 537, under the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian as the Patriarchal Church of Constantinople. For almost 1,500 years, it has been the center of Eastern Orthodoxy.

*Hagia Sophia Imperial Gate mosaic. Photograph: Myrabella – Public Domain*

When the city fell to the Turks in 1453, they desecrated the church, murdered the clergy, whitewashed the glorious interior, and converted it into a mosque they called “the Ayasofya Grand Mosque”.

After the Ottoman Empire fell, the new secular Republic of Turkey made it into a museum. Some of the long-covered mosaics were revealed, and it became a place of encounter between Christianity and Islam.

Until now. The current strongman President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has overturned Atatürk’s wise decision to convert the Hagia Sophia into a museum.

The mosaics will again be whitewashed.

So this evening, please join Christians from around the world in singing the Akathist Hymn or praying the Rosary.

I would also recommend that you give a listen to the “Lamentation of Holy Mother Church of Constantinople”. It was composed by Guillaume Du Fay in the years immediately following the fall of the City and the Church.