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Date: 2006-11-30

A Pastor's Heart Takes Benedict XVI to Turkey

Pilgrimage to a "Second Rome"

By Elizabeth Lev

ROME, NOV. 30, 2006 (Zenit.org).- As the papal visit to Turkey grew closer, it seemed that the Turkish tug-of-war between the Vatican and the media intensified.

Newspapers, television and radio harped on the significance of Benedict XVI's visit to a Muslim country, stridently announcing the protests and politics of the trip. The Vatican, on the other hands, kept gently repeating that the "trip" was really a pilgrimage, and that long before the European Union or even Islam existed, Constantinople was established as the first Christian city.

If one pays attention to the historical and cultural context of this papal voyage, the dates and places will reveal more about the Pope's plans than any sensationalizing headline.

Constantinople, or "Secunda Roma" (the second Rome), was founded by Emperor Constantine in 330 on the site of an earlier Greek city, Byzantium. Constantine, after uniting the empire and legalizing Christianity, had built six churches in Rome, but soon realized that he would never be able to realize his dream of a Christian city in a town still dominated by pagan gods.

So he founded this new city on the Bosporus. Ideally situated at the juncture of Europe and Asia, Constantinople also linked the northern and southern areas of the empire through the Black Sea on one coast and the Mediterranean on the other. This great crossroads of the known world geographically exemplified the universality of the Christian Church.

Constantine conceived of the city as a new Rome, and an even better Rome, because it would be Christian. Like Rome itself, Constantinople was spread across seven hills.

The visit of the Roman Pontiff to Turkey, the center of the world in which Christianity was born, represents a papal agenda concerned more with his own flock than the media might imagine.

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Istanbul's Dazzling Jewel

Today, Benedict XVI visits the architectural wonder of Hagia Sophia. But even though the building has been a museum since 1935, the Pope will not be checking another monument off his list of "top 10" things to see and do in Istanbul; he will be praying in one of the oldest and most wondrous churches in Christendom.

Hagia Sophia, or the Church of the Holy Wisdom of God, was first built by Constantine and consecrated in 360. The church fell twice to riots, but sprang back immediately each time. The third construction of Hagia Sophia, under the emperor Justinian in 537, resulted in what was deemed by many to be the eighth Wonder of the World.

The design of Justinian's church was a far cry from the Latin cross style prevalent in Rome. More centralized with a length of 250 feet for a width of 230 feet, Hagia Sophia was capped by a splendid dome about 100 feet in diameter, recalling Rome's finest pagan edifice, the Pantheon. But Justinian took only the hemispherical dome symbolizing heaven from the ancient imperial tradition; the rest of church displayed Christian ideals.

Hagia Sophia, unlike the ancient Roman temples which were grandiose on the outside but empty within, was constructed to express the Christian sense of interiority. On the outside, half-domes huddle around the central cupola, gravitating toward, yet solidly supporting, the inner sanctum. Inside the church, dozens of windows pierce the walls, and light seems to dissolve the supporting structures.

The dome itself rests on a ring of 40 arched windows that look like a collar of scalloped lace. The effect is weightlessness -- a place where the rules of gravity and of the physical world no longer apply and that heaven supports of its own will.

The skin of glittering gold mosaics that once covered every surface of the church enhances the sense of transcendence. Christ Pantocrator shimmers on one wall while the Madonna and Child appear in a golden sunburst over an apse and fiery angels seem to sustain the dome with their numerous wings.

In the words of Paul the Silentiary, court poet to Justianian, into this church at the crossroads of Christendom "come rays of light, expelling clouds of care and showing the way to the living God."

The church, however, has suffered much since the days of Justinian. It collapsed twice and was taken over by Christian crusaders in 1204, who transformed it into a cathedral for the next 60 years. After the fall of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia was taken over by the conquering Turks and transformed into a mosque and its wondrous mosaics were covered over with plaster, as the human form in decoration was abhorrent to the Muslim religion.

The architecture, however, so amazed the Ottoman Turks that the greatest mosques built in the 16th century by Koca Sinan, the most accomplished architect of his age, were modeled after the ancient Christian church.

The resilience of the church to withstand destruction and transformations, and to remain standing after degradations that St. Peter's Basilica has never seen, underscores many of Benedict XVI's concerns as Pope.

The secularization of what was one of the most sacred spaces in the world renders very real the danger of secularism, while the survival of this witness to the earliest Christian community reminds us of Christianity's glorious past and allows for hope in a great future.

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Thanks to Andrew

The Church concerns herself not only with place but time, and the choice of date for this visit highlights the Pope's attempt to re-establish unity between the Eastern and the Western churches. A case in point is Benedict XVI's presence in Turkey today, the feast of St. Andrew, considered in the Eastern Church as the founder of the Church of Constantinople.

St. Andrew Apostle, brother of Simon Peter, was the first to be called by Christ. The Gospel of John tells us that Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist and when he met Jesus, Andrew went to his brother Simon Peter and said, "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41). Andrew brought his brother to Christ and the two became the first apostles.

After Pentecost, Andrew traveled through Greece, Russia and Turkey, where according to tradition he founded the diocese of Byzantium. Eventually in Patras, Greece, Andrew was martyred under the Roman governor Aegeates, but not before converting 20,000 people while preaching from his X-shaped cross.

The son of Emperor Constantine brought the body of Andrew to Constantinople in 357 and placed it in the Church of the Holy Apostles. In Holy Week of 1462, Thomas Paleologus, refugee from the fall of Constantinople, came to Rome bearing the head of St. Andrew the Apostle. Pope Pius II received the great relic with much pomp and ceremony and placed it in St. Peter's Basilica near the grave of his brother.

St. Andrew remained next to his brother even through the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica, up until 1967 when Pope Paul VI returned the relic to Patras and the community St. Andrew had formed through his martyrdom.

As Benedict XVI, successor of St. Peter, goes to Bartholomew I, successor of St. Andrew, it will be as a reunion of two brothers who both gave their lives to spread the word of God to the whole world north, south, east and west, and together they will celebrate the day Andrew attained his eternal reward in heaven.

What better reason for a visit?

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Birth of a Film

Advent started early for a few lucky Romans this year. Last Sunday, thousands piled into the Vatican's Paul VI Hall for the world premiere of the new film "The Nativity."

The evening began with a reading of the Gospels recounting the stories of the angel's appearance to Zachariah, the Annunciation to Mary, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Massacre of the Innocents. Italian actor Gigi Prioetti read the passages beautifully, preparing the audience for what was to come. Hearing the words of the Gospel helped the viewer tie the backdrop of God's Word to the dramatized version of the story.

The movie does a remarkable job of encapsulating time. It starts on a dark night and an approaching storm and jumps back a year so that the viewers feel propelled toward man's appointment with God. All things converge at this "fullness of time," from the miraculous conceptions of Jesus and John the Baptist to the magi, who observe an extraordinary sign in the heavens, and finally even Herod, the despot who senses an impending threat and uses all his guile and power to root it out.

The story is far more fast-paced than one would imagine, with a few action scenes dotted through the film to build up tension and anticipation. But this is not a movie about special effects or glamorous sets. The film never forgets it is a vehicle to communicate the story of the humble birth of the Savior of the world.

The one slightly jarring note comes from a less-than-inspiring rendering of the character of Mary. Keisha Castle-Hughes, the actress entrusted with this daunting task, gives us a Mary who was much like any other girl, so similar in fact that she embodies an adolescent moodiness that seems strangely out of place.

When Mary learns of her betrothal to Joseph, for instance, she complains in terms understandable in 2006 ("Why do I have to marry a man I hardly know?") but impossible for a young woman of her era and station, and much less for one of Mary's exceptional virtue.

Fortunately this lacuna has only a minor effect on one's enjoyment of the film. Castle-Hughes' portrayal of Mary's pregnancy in both beautiful and moving. As she slowly deepens in her understanding of Who she is carrying, Mary becomes more serene and certain.

The real star of the show is Joseph, played by Oscar Isaac. He is portrayed as one having loved Mary from afar, assisting her family in tactful ways. He is overjoyed the day Mary is promised to him as wife. This makes it all the more poignant when Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant. More than wounded pride and honor, his heart seems broken.

Even before the angel informs him of Mary's exalted status, Joseph has already decided not to denounce her, still protecting her, and when he returns to Mary's side he becomes a most steadfast and self-sacrificing husband as he bears hardship, scorn and suffering. Joseph reminds us what a wonderful gift good husbands and fathers are.

After the glorious story of Christmas and the drama of Christ's birth, the best part of "The Nativity" for me was to see a role model for young men of a heroic, virtuous and loving husband and father.

Hollywood needs a lot more of these.

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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University's Italian campus. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org.