Today marks the anniversary of the inauguration of the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, the greatest of all basilicas of eastern Christendom.
The Cathedral of Hagia Sophia, which means Holy Wisdom in Greek, was dedicated on Dec. 27, in the year 537 by the Emperor Justinian.
The current magnificent place of worship is the third church to occupy the site, as the earlier one was destroyed.
Justinian commissioned Greek architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles to construct the new basilica.
For nearly a millennium, Hagia Sophia was the center of the eastern Roman Empire’s political, ecclesiastical and spiritual life.
