Hagia Sophia is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have changed the history of architecture.
The Church was dedicated to the Logos, “Shrine of the Holy Wisdom of God”. It remained the world’s largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. Constructed between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and was the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site, the previous two having both been destroyed. It was designed by the Greek scientists Isidore of Miletus, a physicist, and Anthemius of Tralles, a mathematician. Famous in particular for its massive dome, the dome replaced in 563 after an earthquake.
Hagia Sophia is a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. Following the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. It was used as a mosque for 482 years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum by the Republic of Turkey.
The church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 15-metre (49 ft) silver iconostasis. The focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years, the building witnessed the excommunication of Patriarch Michael I Cerularius on the part of Pope Leo IX in 1054, an act which is commonly considered the start of the Great Schism.
The kings of the Zagwe dynasty (900-1270) who is reputed to have ordered the construction of the monolithic rock-hewn churches in the northern Ethiopian city Lalibela. Abba Libanos is unique amongst the churches of Lalibela in that it is the only structure that is not free-standing. Hewn from a hillside, the roof has not been separated from the surrounding rock. According to legend constructed in just one night by angels.
Ethiopia – Lalibela, Abba Libanos.
Christianity attributes different meanings to the word Church. It is a building, sometimes called the House of God; it is also the community of worshippers who use the building; and it includes the assembly of believers, both living and dead. In the beginning, to distinguish the universal Church from the regional congregations, the term Catholic was used, (from the Greek Katholikos, meaning universal), and later this was identified with the Church of Rome. According to the Catholic Church, the Pope, known as the Bishop of Rome, is successor to the authority granted Saint Peter, the disciple, on whom Christ’s universal Church was built. (See Matthew 16:18). After the schism between the Western and Eastern Churches in 1054, the Catholic Church has managed to preserve its unity, but, as a result of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the Western Church has split into many varying sects.
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral of the archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial-place of Saint James the Greater, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. It is the destination of the Way of St. James, a major historical pilgrimage route since the Early Middle Ages. The building is a Romanesque structure with later Gothic and Baroque additions.
The infallibility of the Pope, the Immaculacy of the Virgin Mary and her ascent into heaven are part of Roman Catholic doctrine, which holds that the Holy Ghost is an integral part of both God the Father and God the Son. The language of this Church is Latin; but after 20th century it was replaced by vernacular languages for church services. It practices baptism, communion, absolution, atonement, confession and confirmation. In the sacrament of communion, only bread is offered. It is believed that priests are awarded power through Christ to grant forgiveness during confession. The sick and the dying are anointed with holy oil. Marriages conducted in church demand a commitment to a life-long union, not permitted by the church to be broken and made to another person, except in very special circumstances. The Roman Catholic Church, which is often lavishly decorated as appropriate to the House of God, allows the deployment of statues, pictorial designs and the use of musical instruments.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, St. Anthony’s Chapel
Spain – Santiago de Compostela
Greek – Catholic church, baroque – rococo style, built in 1744-1760.
Ukraine – Lviv, St. George Cathedral.
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