Aghia Sophia of Nicaea was converted to a mosque in 1331 after the town was conquered by the Turks and the building was damaged severely in several earthquakes before it became a museum under the modern Turkish Republic.
The Millennium Mass
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Spiritual leaders of the
Orthodox faith gathered for the first time in nearly seven centuries at the ruins of the
historical church Aghia Sophia in Iznik (Nicaea) for the Christmas Mass of the year 2000
while BBA carried out the live transmission of the three-hour ceremony to Greece,
Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, the Czech Republic, the U.S. and Australia. Nicaea has sacred
significance for the Greek Ortodox Church since it was here that the 1st and the 7th
ecumenical councils met in 325 A.D. and 787 A.D. respectively. Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I of Istanbul led 15 Orthodox prelates from various countries during the Mass
which was attended by believers from Greece, Romania and Serbia. Aghia Sophia of Nicaea was converted to a mosque in 1331 after the town was conquered by the Turks and the building was damaged severely in several earthquakes before it became a museum under the modern Turkish Republic. |