The Ecumenical Patriarch has designated July 24th as a day of mourning for Orthodox Christians across the world as the former Christian Basilica, Hagia Sofia in Istanbul (Constantinople), is reverted to a mosque by the order of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

History of the Hagia Sofia
The Basilica of Hagia Sophia was built in 537 under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. For a time it was the largest building in the world and the largest Christian church. It served as the cathedral of the Patriarch of Constantinople before and after the Great Schism split Western and Eastern Christianity into Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. After the Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453, the basilica was converted into a mosque. Under the Ottomans, architects added minarets and buttresses to preserve the building, but the mosaics showing Christian imagery were whitewashed and covered.

In 1934, under a secularist Turkish government, the mosque was turned into a museum. Some mosaics were uncovered, including depictions of Christ, the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, Justinian I, and Zoe Porhyrogenita.

It was declared a World Heritage Site under UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. When the museum becomes a mosque, it is believed that the mosaics will be covered during Muslim prayers, as well as the seraph figures located in the high basilica dome.