An ecumenical prayer service, co-organized by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and In Defense of Christians, took place at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, D.C. It witnessed a broad inter-Christian cooperation of all confessions while lamenting the reconversion of Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.
The service gathered an exceptionally high number of Archbishops of orthodox and oriental churches in the USA. The service was presided by Archbishop Elpidophoros, Exarch and Head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Other participants were
+ Archbishop Joseph of New York and Metropolitan of North America of the Antioch Orthodox Church
+ Archbishop Dionysius John Kawak, Patriarchal Vicar of the Archdiocese of the Eastern USA of the Syriac-Orthodox Church
+ Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Archbishop of America and prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church
+ Bishop Irinej (Dobrijevic), Bishop of Eastern America, The Serbian Orthodox Church+ Archbishop Vicken Aikazian, Ecumenical Director and Diocesan Legate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
Visitors from abroad included a delegation from the World Evangelical Alliance headed up by the Secretary General, Thomas Schirrmacher. It included Brian Stiller, Global Ambassador, Thomas K. Johnson, the Special Envoy to the Vatican, and Timothy Goropevsek, director of the media department. As a special guest, HRH Prince Gharios El Chemor joined the WEA delegation.
In Defense of Christians (IDC) is the leading US-advocacy organization for Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East and Africa
The Ecumenical Prayer Service fell on the one-year anniversary of the reconversion of the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey, into a mosque.
The Hagia Sophia (lit. Holy Wisdom) is a worship place designed by the Greek specialists in geometry Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. Built in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935, the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum, so that it would be open to Muslims, Christians and others. In 2020, this decision was reversed and the Hagia Sophia re-opened as a mosque. This includes hiding major Christian paintings behind curtains.
Thomas Schirrmacher has visited the Hagia Sophia frequently, often with delegations, and especially when having an audience with the Ecumenical Patriarch. The previous day Schirrmacher was presented with a Festschrift which included a protest by Muslim leaders against changing the Hagia Sophia into a mosque which appeared on both the front cover and inside the book.
The foundation of Washington’s Greek Orthodox church was laid in 1956 by then-US-President Eisenhower. The temple is named Hagia Sophia after the magnificent site in Istanbul, historic Constantinople.
The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) earlier this month served as a reminder that an estimated 300 million Christians are living in countries where they are facing varying degrees of discrimination or persecution. In most cases, it does not matter, which tradition a Christian belongs to – whether evangelical, Pentecostal, mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Oriental or others – they suffer simply for confessing their faith in Jesus Christ.
For 175 years, standing in solidarity with Christians who are facing discrimination and persecution has been at the heart of the mission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA). In continuation of this tradition, WEA Secretary General Bishop Dr Thomas Schirrmacher joined Orthodox and other church leaders lamenting the reconversion of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul into a mosque, when he visited Washington, DC earlier this year.
Service Attendance
The service gathered an exceptionally high number of Archbishops of orthodox and oriental churches in the USA. The service was presided by Archbishop Elpidophoros, Exarch and Head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Other participants were
- Archbishop Joseph of New York and Metropolitan of North America of the Antioch Orthodox Church;
- Archbishop Dionysius John Kawak, Patriarchal Vicar of the Archdiocese of the Eastern USA of the Syriac-Orthodox Church;
- Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Archbishop of America and prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church;
- Bishop Irinej (Dobrijevic), Bishop of Eastern America, The Serbian Orthodox Church;
- Archbishop Vicken Aikazian, Ecumenical Director and Diocesan Legate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America.
Visitors from abroad included a delegation from the World Evangelical Alliance headed up by the Secretary General, Thomas Schirrmacher. It included Brian Stiller, Global Ambassador, Thomas K. Johnson, the Special Envoy to the Vatican, and Timothy Goropevsek, Chief Communications Officer. And as a special guest, HRH Prince Gharios El Chemor joined the WEA delegation.
The co-organizer In Defense of Christians (IDC) is the leading US-advocacy organization for Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East and Africa.
About the Hagia Sophia Cathedral
The Hagia Sophia (lit. Holy Wisdom) is a worship place designed by the Greek specialists in geometry Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. Built in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935, the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum, so that it would be open to Muslims, Christians and others. In 2020, this decision was reversed and the Hagia Sophia re-opened as a mosque. This includes hiding major Christian paintings behind curtains. Thomas Schirrmacher has visited the Hagia Sophia frequently, often with delegations, and especially when having an audience with the Ecumenical Patriarch.
About the Holy Sophia Cathedral in Washington DC
The foundation of Washington’s Greek Orthodox church was laid in 1956 by then-US-President Eisenhower. The temple is named Hagia Sophia after the magnificent site in Istanbul, historic Constantinople.
Links
Mirror Spectator: https://mirrorspectator.com/2021/07/20/remembering-hagia-sophia/
Assembly Orthodox Bishops: https://www.assemblyofbishops.org/news/2021/members-of-the-assembly-of-bishops-participate-in-religious-freedom-summit-in-washington-d.c
Ecumanical Prayer Service: https://www.goarch.org/news/archdiocese/-/asset_publisher/pTEM6Ar2qunr/content/ecumenical-prayer-service/pop_up?_101_INSTANCE_pTEM6Ar2qunr_viewMode=print&_101_INSTANCE_pTEM6Ar2qunr_languageId=en_US
In Defense of Christians (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdFXBbxXzpA
Orthodox Christian Laity: https://ocl.org/ecumenical-prayer-service-one-year-after-hagia-sophias-reconversion/
Orthodox Observer News: https://www.goarch.org/-/keynote-reconversion
Royal Blog.org: https://royalblog.org/2021/07/27/hrh-prince-gharios-el-chemor-meets-the-greek-orthodox-archbishop-of-america/
Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/july/nahdlatul-ulama-nu-wea-evangelical-alliance-nations-mosque.html
Photos: WEA/Timothy Goropevsek.
