Hagia Sophia (Nicaea)

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Hagia Sophia 1962. Photo by Paolo Monti .

The Hagia Sophia ( ancient Greek Ἁγία Σοφία “Holy Wisdom”) is a former church from the 4th century and a former museum in Nikäa / İznik , which was converted into a mosque in 2011 under the AKP government of Erdoğan . Remains of frescoes and mosaics as well as a step-shaped priest's bench ( synthronon ) in the apse have been preserved in the building.

history

Hagia Sophia of Nicea after being converted into a mosque

The Hagia Sophia of Nicea was modeled after the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in the 6th century under the Roman Emperor Justinian I. In 787 the Second Council of Nicaea took place in this church , which ended the era of the Byzantine iconoclasm . During the occupation of Constantinople by the Crusaders (1204–1261) it served as a patriarchal cathedral. After the conquest of Nicomedia by the Ottomans in 1337, the church was converted into a mosque under Orhan I. But the building fell into disrepair under the Ottomans and was abandoned - long before the Turkish Republic was founded in 1923. The founder of Turkey , Mustafa Kemal Ataturk , turned the mosque into a museum in 1935 and generally banned services in the building to prevent religious strife between Christians and Muslims.

Although the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , the Iznik Chamber of Commerce and numerous local residents wanted to prevent the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, a minaret was built next to the church in October 2011 by the state general directorate for foundations in Ankara and the building was converted into one in November Converted mosque. The order for the conversion came from the AKP Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arinc personally. Critics complain that now the Iznik formative Christian faith tourism from all over the world can dry up, since there are no alternative tourist attractions to Hagia Sophia. Even AKP government member Ertuğrul Günay voiced criticism of the damage that would be done to Anatolia's Christian heritage. Iznik's deputy mayor Kenan Zengin of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said they hadn't even been asked before the decision.

literature

  • Sabine Möllers: The Hagia Sophia in İznik, Nikaia . Alfter 1994, ISBN 3-929742-32-2 .
  • Michael Altripp: Thoughts on the Synthronos of Hagia Sophia in İznik-Nikaia . in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift 92 (1999) pp. 448–454.

Web links

Commons : Hagia Sophia (Nicaea)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c The Church That Politics Turned Into a Mosque. The New York Times , accessed May 2, 2015 .
  2. ↑ a b Dispute about Hagia Sophia in Nicaea. Deutschlandfunk , accessed on May 2, 2015 .

Coordinates: 40 ° 25 ′ 46 ″  N , 29 ° 43 ′ 13 ″  E