Today, Dec. 27, marks the date when the greatest of all basilicas of eastern Christendom, the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, was dedicated by the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Justinian
The present cathedral was the third place of worship to occupy the site, as the earlier church was destroyed.
Justinian commissioned Greek architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles to build a new basilica. It was so richly and artistically decorated that Justinian proclaimed, “…Solomon, I have outdone thee!”
Originally called the Megale Eklessia (Great Church), the name Hagia Sophia, or Holy Wisdom in Greek, came into use around 430.
Through the centuries, the Hagia Sofia has stood and functioned in grandness, however, it has also been the target of vandalism and desecration, with the most recent insolent instance being its re-conversion into a mosque by the Islamist Erdogan administration in Turkey a year and a half ago.