In our secular world, with its complete refusal to accept the concept of spirituality, one must look backward to an era in which the spiritual was elevated into forms of art not seen before–nor since! Today’s subject is another look at the Hagia Sophia. The basilica was begun under the sponsorship of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th C. It was the first attempt to erect a round dome on a rectangular or square base rather than a round base. The name Hagia Sophia means Temple of Wisdom, or Divine Wisdom. The first building collapsed owing to the architects’ failure to account for the outward forces at the dome’s base. The existing building is also called the Second Hagia Sophia, in which the base was modified by the addition of pendatives which help spread the weight into the supporting walls.
But the subject of today’s posting is not so much the magnificence of the structure but of a detail that was added in the second half of the 13th C., circa 1261 A.D. The image is often used but generally not in a manner that emphases the both the size of the image but also the enormous scale. The image is called the Deesis Mosaic, based on a Greek word meaning “entreaty.” The phrase reflects a Byzantine understanding that through the influence of the Blessed Virgin Mary, granted the title Theotokos, is imploring God the Father to have mercy upon mankind. John the Baptist is present in his function as the Last Prophet of the Old Testament.
In the image the viewer sees not only an enormous image of Christ Pantr0krator, or Ruler of the Universe, which is flanked by the Blessed Virgin Mary at far left and John the Baptist at far right.
This view helps explain the scale of the image. The face of Christ, measured from the crown of His head to the bottom of His beard, is 26.” I used the image also to help viewers understand the powerful effect of the image in the mosaic. It was made of small pieces of glass, called tesserrae, of varying colors and shapes. People who have viewed the image say that the eyes seem to follow one across this huge space. The effect is achieved by the placement of the image relative to the light flowing from the windows at left. This is easier to understand in the detail image below.
Notice especially the three different patterns of the tesserae that were made for this site. There are angeled tesserae in the portion of the halo directly over Christ’s face, with spiral patterns in other areas of the halo and a third pattern in the background behind the image. Not visible to the naked eye are the specially shaped tesserae under the left side of the nose and in the right eye. These are differently colored and shaped, all to enhance the sense of motion of the eyes. The tesserae in the entire image include white, gray, pale yellow, rose, light and dark olive for the facial areas; “coffee” brown and black for the hair; and many more. Other portions include tessellae, or geometric shapes of glass or tile.
I encourage viewers to visit two other sites for more details: First, Dr. Evan Freeman, “Late Byzantine naturalism: Hagia Sophia’s Deësis mosaic,” in Smarthistory, January 15, 2021, accessed April 5, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/deesis-christ-with-the-virgin-mary-and-john-the-baptist-hagia-sophia-istanbul/. The second site is one dedicated to advancement of knowledge of the Byzantine world: https://pallasweb.com/deesis/gallery. This second site offers amazing detail of the Deesis mosaic.
Next week, I will offer some details about another mosaic which includes images of Byzantine Emperors Justinian and Constantine.
As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!
Anglican Internet Church 
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