History saint sophia. what is so unique about it? what does Hagai stand 4? what is it used 4 2day? ?

Question

what other religious group used it?

Answer 1

what does Hagai stand 4?

The Church of the Holy Wisdom, commonly known as Hagia Sophia in English.

Sancta (Sanctuary) Sophia (Wisdom) -

It is also known as Sancta Sophia in Latin and Ayasofya in Turkish.

Although it is sometimes called "Saint Sophia" in English, it is not named after a saint named Sophia — the Greek word sophia means "wisdom."

history saint sophia.

built as a Christian church,

converted to a mosque in 1453, and made into a museum in the middle of the 20th century

In 1935 Hagia Sophia was converted into a museum, and it is now one of Turkey's two most popular museums.

what is so unique about it?

A 6th century masterpiece of Byzantine architecture in Istanbul.  

It is universally acknowledged as one of the great buildings of the world.

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture.

Justinian himself had overseen the completion of the greatest cathedral ever built up to that time, and it was to remain the largest cathedral for 1,000 years up until the completion of the cathedral in Seville. It is today the fourth largest cathedral in the world (by size, not height)

what is it used 4 2day?

In 1935 Hagia Sophia was converted into a museum, and it is now one of Turkey's two most popular museums.

what other religious group used it?

Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Muslim.

Answer 2

Haga Sophia means 'Holy Wisdom', sometimes misinterpreted as St. Sophia.  It took only seven years to build, in the 6th century, and had the largest dome in the world (until St. Peter's in Rome built, 16th century).

It was an important symbol of the Byzantine (East Roman) empire, and has served as a model for many, many churches/mosques around the world; especially the Blue Mosque (which is less than a kilometre away, the two building face each other), and St. Francis of Assissi, Italy.

Other famous 'Haga Sophia' churches exist in Kiev, and Sofia, Bulgaria.

WHen the Turks took over Constantinople in 1453, Haga Sophia became a mosque.  It is now a museum.

Answer 3

hagia, and variants refer to something holy or saintly. sophia is wisdon, the root word for sophists, philosophy, etc.

i presume you are referring to the building in istanbul.

so hagia sofia on one level refers to holy wisdom and was the name for the basilica of constantinople (now istanbul and now a museum after having been a mosque). the city of sofia in bulgaria is also related to this concept where sofia has morphed into something of a christian icon after being a non-christian godess. i believe that mythic figure had a couple of sisters sort of like fates.

check out wikipedia's entry for hagia sophia