The Catholic Weekly 2 August 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 5 2, August, 2020 Serving the Sydney community since 1892 Our experienced Funeral Directors are committed to providing a personalised and meaningful service for your loved one. Prepaid funerals available. Newtown | Chatswood | Parramatta | Miranda 9519 5344 | wnbull.com.au HAGIA SOPHIA TIMELINE 325 A church is built on the site at the order of Constan- tine I on the foundations of a pagan temple in Con- stantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). 404 It is damaged by a fire that erupted during a riot fol- lowing the second ban- ishment of St John Chrys- ostom, then patriarch of Constantinople. It is re- built and enlarged by the Roman emperor Constans I. 415 The restored building is re- dedicated in 415 by Theo- dosius II. 537 The current ca- thedral is com- pleted under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. For more than a millennium it was the IT’S A decision which has united Christian voices around the word. The president of the Aus- tralian Catholic Bishops Conference and the head of the Greek Orthodox Archdi- ocese of Australia say Hagia Sophia’s revised status as a mosque risks sowing division in a world already struggling to find common ground. In a statement signed by Archbishop Mark Coleridge and Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis released on 24 July, the two leaders said theu wish to “join our voic- es to the many around the world who have expressed deep regret at the recent de- cision in Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia/ Aya Sofya”. Hagia Sophia, arguable the greatest Christian cathe- dral for more than 900 years before becoming a mosque in the 15th century, became a secular museum in 1935. After a decision by the Turkish government earli- er this month, it has again become a mosque; Friday prayers were set to resume on 24 July. The archbishops said the grand building has, for the past 85 years, been “a mon- ument of world cultural her- itage and a symbol of inclu- sivity”. “Our fear is that this could aggravate tension between Christians and Muslims at a time when we need to pur- sue the path of dialogue and seek common ground,” they said. “The path of nationalist ideology and the political decisions it prompts can lead only to division, which is never the fruit of the holy wisdom all religions seek.” Earlier this month Pope Francis expressed his sad- ness at the decision by a Turkish court to revert the iconic museum into a Hagia Sophia dismay Senior AustralianChristian leaders unite over Turkishdecision to return former cathedral tomosque mosque. While commemo- rating the International Day of the Sea during his Sunday Angelus address on 12 July, Pope Francis told pilgrims in St Peter’s Square that “the sea carries me a little farther away in my thoughts: to Is- tanbul”. “I think of Hagia Sophia, and I am very saddened,” he said. Other Christian leaders around the world have ech- oed his statement with the US bishops conference urg- ing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “to reverse this unnecessary and painful decision and restore Hagia Sophia as a place of prayer and reflection for all peo- ples”. Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın said the Christian mosaics would continue to be pre- served although covered with a curtain during prayer times. “The main point here is that there is no damage to these mosaics, depictions, the historical texture and ar- chitecture of the building,” he told media last week. The Australian archbish- ops prayed that in time the decision will be reversed, so that Hagia Sophia/Aya Sofya can again be common ground for all people and an emblem of peace.” ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues Our fear is that this could ag- gravate tension betweenChris- tians andMus- lims at a timewhenwe need topursue the path of dialogue and seek commonground.” Australian Bishops’ statement Cathedral of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. 1453 After the Turkish conquest of Con- stantinople Mehmed II has it repurposed as a mosque. 1934 Turkish President Kemal Atatürk secularises the building. 1935 it is made into a museum. 1985 It is named as part of a UNES- CO World Heritage site called the Historic Areas of Istanbul which includes that city’s oth- er major historic buildings and locations. July 2020 Imme- diately following a ruling of Turkey’s highest administrative court, President Recep Tayyip Erdo an, formally converts Hagia Sophia, from a museum into a mosque. Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/UMIT BEKTAS, REUTERS NEWS