New York, NY – To review the extraordinary history of the construction of Hagia Sophia, the Patriarchal Cathedral church of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from December 537 To May 1453, view the National Geographic program below offered in English with Greek subtitles.
Referred to as The Great Church of Christ, the magnificent edifice was the largest cathedral built up to that time, and remained so for a thousand years. Upon its completion in 537 the temple itself was so richly and artistically decorated that Justinian proclaimed, “Solomon, I have outdone thee!” (Νενίκηκά σε Σολομών).