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The bells of the church of Agios Dionysios rang the sound known as “Penthos. The actual word meaning sorrow, grief or sadness. Other churches around Zakynthos today at noon, also sounded “Penthos” in regards to the conversion of Agia Sophia into a mosque.
The same will follow in many temples throughout Greece, while flags will be waving at half-mast, as today will be the first, after 86 years, Muslim prayer in Hagia Sophia, “sealing” the conversion of the great Christain monument into a mosque.
In the evening in the Diocese of Athens, the Archbishop of Athens, Ieronymos, will perform the Sequence of the Standing Hymn. Specifically, as announced, “on Friday at 20:00, the day of operation of Hagia Sophia as a mosque, but also a day of mourning and suffering for all Orthodoxy, Christianity and all Hellenism, the Blessed Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Mr. Ieronymos will attend the Holy Sequence of the Akathistos Hymn at the Cathedral of Athens “.
It was May 29, 1453 when the cry “The City of Ealo” was heard and the City of Saints, Emperors and legends “fell” into the hands of the Ottomans.
The day before the last Divine Liturgy was to be performed inside the majestic temple. Constantine Palaiologos and defenders of the city take over and the emperor encourages the people to bravely resist shortly before he falls heroically.
After the Fall of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia was looted, desecrated and converted into a mosque.
In 1934, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the context of the modernization of Turkey, turned the temple into a museum. White plaster covering Christian mosaics and murals were removed. On December 6, 1985, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On July 10, the Turkish Council of State invalidated Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s 1934 decree that had bestowed Hagia Sophia with its museum status. Later in the day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an order declaring Hagia Sophia open for Muslim worship. Local Orthodox Churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church, voiced their regret over the decision, along with UNESCO.
After 86 years, it becomes a mosque again.
