User:Neubauer95476

Somewhat new to this environment. So if I make a few mistakes here and there, be patient. Currently working on the Hagia Sophia page with grateful help from Elizium23.

The first two churches on the site prior to the completion of the one we see today were not called Hagia Sophia. The term Hagia Sophia was not used until about the middle of the fifth century. One reference for this fact is http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/haso/hd_haso.htm. Looking for more.

The first church was Inaugurated on 15 February 360 (during the reign of Constantius II) by the Arian bishop Eudoxius of Antioch. While it is logical to assume the nontrinitarian Bishop Eudoxius did not dedicate it to an element of the trinity he did not believe in, I am looking for a reliable second source for this possibility. It was known as the Great Church and was correctly referenced as the Great Church in a number of history books, for example: (Limberis, V., 1994. Devine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the creation of Christian Constantinople.) Limberis uses the phase "The Great Church" for the second church as well. Also Constas, N., 2003. Proclus of Constantinople and the Cult of the Virgin in Late Antiquity.

The second church was dedicated on 10 October 415. An interesting observation is the significance of dates. During this time period, did the date of dedication of churches have any significance?

The third church was consecrated on St. Stephen's day 537. (Which is December 26th in the Western Tradition and December 27th in the Eastern Tradition.) And called the Church of the Divine Wisdom. (Hutton, W.H., 1900. Constantinople The story of the Old Capital of the Empire, London:J.M. Dent & Co.) This book, a little ancient (joke) was, I assume, a rather common turn of the century view of Constantinople, and is a good read from that standpoint. Clearly the third Great Church was not dedicated on Dec 25. What significance, if any, is there to the Dec 27 date?