Once a Year, Give me Agia Sophia for a day
A first time pilgrimage to my ‘mecca’
Final Prayer:
Give us our ‘mecca’ also.
I say this, not to anger our Greek Orthodox faithful, but to awaken the attention of our Turkish neighbors—‘Your’ mecca? Is there another, they think? And perhaps, they read on.
Let us begin with my father, who among other vocations, his most noble one, being a chanter in the Greek Orthodox church. A voice, seasoned & aged, well; Strong & clear as a bell--I still have his voice chanting a Christmas hymn, encased on a cassette. Thru grammar school, we circled a multitude of churches—leaving Canarsie behind for Manhattan, where the plethora of Orthodox churches awaited. And this is how my faith began.
Constantinople..I always thought the Ecumenical Patriarchio here to be bigger, grander than New York’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, than all others—more powerful since it oversaw all our faith around the world. An equivalent of St Peter’s is what I expected.
What saddened me is it isn’t so. The Fanari, is simply a normal sized church, with a Turkish flag heralding the entrance, lest we forget we are on Turkish land. A minaret alongside the outside perimeter reminds us periodically we are no longer in our own lands, we are a minute reminder of the glorious past in Constantinople. We are 1500 Greek Orthodox, ‘Romyi’, amongst 20 million Muslim in the immediate vicinity around & in Constantinople. The mosque’s heralding, calling all of the Moslem faith to prayer, is the law of this land now.
This shouldn’t surprise me, I thought further. For Aghia Sophia is our St Peter’s. Isn’t Aghia Sophia our ‘mecca’, our pilgrimage to Constantinople?
From there our faith should be addressed.
Without fear, without retribution.
Place all your qualms aside. Go once as a pilgrimage for yourself, for a beloved parent, or for a beloved grandparent, perhaps no longer alive.
But go.
Let faith stir within you, in large or small depth, let it fester inside our busy, active selves. Aghia Sophia stands there, to remind us where our faith centered. You can not be indifferent to this.
I have no wants to ask of God—my father died when I was 16 and left a bottomless pit in my brother’s and my life. But my father has left us with faith, and this I cling to. I am lucky—many don’t have this. But I share it in the hope that reading this, it stirs within you same.
I am humbled by the hunched elder priest conducting liturgy in the Patriarchio, humbled by a priest, barely 5 ft tall. Let the Fanari & Aghia Sophia be your pilgrimage, once in your life. The sightseeing will wait, will be there another time. I have learned this, this first time in Constantinople.
Let such a visit warm your heart to your fellow man, be he Greek Orthodox or other Christian, Muslim, Jew—we are all together on this Earth for one reason—to coexist. And so we must find a way to have our faiths coexist, to continue w/o fear of expulsion or oppression.
A suggestion, on this day of Samareitidos:
‘give me of this water, so I many not thirst also’-- to feel the presence of God.
How? All parishes from around the world do a pilgrimage to Aghia Sophia & the Fanari, and include a Sunday morning liturgy service at the Patriarchio. Go to the Church of Choras, now the Kariye museum, see what restoration discovered beneath the plaster—the most complete Greek Orthodox church of mosaic icons & frescoes from the 14th century.
As the Moslems around the world go to their ‘mecca’ once at least in their lives, make a pilgrimage to ours.
Do not fear. God will be gladdened that we have come to the heart of our faith to pay homage. To gladden the heart of our Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeo that we are here to ‘stereosi’ our faith—
We are the firmament of our faith.
Do not fear the Turkish people. They are people as ourselves, and perhaps will see the masses attending liturgy at the Fanari, and may find it in their hearts to respect us, respect our faith, as we do theirs. And the increased tourism should keep the Tourism minister satiated.
Don’t send money to the Patriarchio, send yourself. Money cannot buy Faith, it can only support the structure from falling. Money cannot support Faith.
Let our parishes, masses, flood Constantinople.
We do not have to ‘take the City back’ as lore has it.
Constantinople was overtaken 500 years ago and we must come to terms with this finally. Let our masses do the talking. Perhaps then, the UNESCO Heritage will further see the need to protect Aghia Sophia & bring it to its original purpose. Our faith, as all faiths to the Superior Being, should be protected.
May I one day see, hear, feel a liturgy service in Aghia Sophia again, albeit only for a day, only in front of the few icons remaining.
It is now empty, a sightseeing money pot for Turkish tourism. Interestingly enough, no admission is taken at the Blue Mosque, or the Suleiman Mosque. I was told that this is so that no one is ever hindered from his faith.
Wish they’d preach that for all their population.
If I see One Greek Orthodox liturgy service in Aghia Sophia in my lifetime, my soul will be gladdened to the outmost. It would be completing a promise to my father, to never turn my back on my faith in God.
To always believe. Believe in man’s basic good instincts, to do good towards his fellow man—on this day of Samareitidos, of the Samaritan women.
Surely, for one Sunday annually, the Turkish government could forego one day’s receipts? They have foregone so many monies’ entrance to their own jewels, their mosques—what is one day to show goodwill to their fellow men?
To show respect for another’s faith, and give good example to their own citizens.
Could this not be true also at the Church of Choras, at the Kariye museum?
Let this be a humble request before EEC grants EEC status to Turkey.
They are many prerequisites I know, let this be one of them.
Let us of the Greek Orthodox faith have our ‘mecca’ for a day every year.
Can you imagine your life without yours?
I have been harsh with our guide because I have not understood.
I bring however another solution which I hope meets with his agreement.
Hopefully, with you reading this, you may come with some constructive thoughts yourself.
Let me say, I am of a cynical mind. All who know me, say this.
But I also say things as I see them, and this offends. I don’t believe in pomp & circumstance, the hierarchies of church politics. I look priests straight in the eye, level, only bow to the Almighty and to my faith in Him. We are all the same, all believe in our respective Gods, and Greek Orthodoxy is my faith. I have my faith and hold strong to that.
Do not contest it.
Respect it, as I do yours.
Is it so outrageous to ask for that one day of faith a year in Aghia Sophia?
I have missed most of the service’s sermon this morning, writing this monologue to you in the Patriarchio’s church. Being present within this church, I am energized to invoke your empathy, your solidarity (‘simparastasi’). Has no one felt as I, I don’t believe I am alone in this revelation. I have been enraged, goaded to write.
Perhaps another thought:
Our youth should attend and feel the need to protect the home of their faith. SIMPLY by their presence.
Can we not unburden ourselves of the need for material wealth, and for one day a year, allow a pilgrimage to Aghia Sophia have its effect on us?
If Turkey as a government allows this, this beautiful gesture will resound around the world.
It isn’t a power play between governments.
It’s a humble request from a humbled human being, to do something right in your lifetime. Is there not one to stand and offer grace in these troubled times?
As John Blumberg states in Good to the Core—Building Value with Values:
“Why are core values critical to our success in business & in life?
Because our values are critical guides for making important decisions.
When in doubt, they cut thru the fog like a beacon in the night.
Revisit your core values.”
Hariclea Grace Christovasilis,
May 2009.