The altar was more costly than gold, for it was composed of a variety of precious materials imbedded together in gold and silver and incrusted with pearls and jewels, and its cavity, which was called the sea, was set with diamonds, rubies and other costly stones. Above the altar was a tabernacle upon which rested a golden cupola and a golden cross weighing seventy-five pounds, which, it is said, was so thickly veneered with diamonds and other jewels that the gold could not be seen. The seats of the priests and the throne of the patriarchs, arranged in a semicircle behind the altar, were of solid silver. The doors of the temple were of ivory, electrum and silver.
We do not know the cost of this wonderful edifice, except that it weighed heavily upon all classes of the community, for every soul within the dominions of the emperor, which then comprised the civilized world, was compelled to contribute. Finally, as it approached completion, Justinian, who stood by, clad in a cotton tunic, to encourage the hundred thousand workmen, stretched out his arms to Heaven and exclaimed:
“Solomon, I have surpassed thee. God be thanked, who has esteemed me worthy to complete this work.”
And he dedicated it to Divine Wisdom.
The Archangel Michael is said to have been the architect, and revealed the designs to Justinian in a dream. Celestial visitors frequently descended to inspect the progress of the work, and, according to the legends of the time, it could not have been accomplished without them. When the building was approaching completion Justinian ran short of money, whereupon an angel appeared, and, leading the mules of the treasury into a subterranean vault, loaded them with eight thousand pounds of miraculous gold, which relieved the situation. When a dispute arose between the emperor and the architects as to how the light should fall upon the altar, the angel appeared again and instructed them to arrange a corona, or circle of windows, and dedicate three of them to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
It is claimed that the dome was the first of the kind ever erected, but that is a misrepresentation, for the Pantheon at Rome was built many years before. The dome rises over the center of the church to a height of one hundred and seventy-nine feet and is one hundred and seven feet in diameter. The dome of the Pantheon is one hundred and thirty feet, those of St. Peter’s at Rome and Santa Maria at Florence are each one hundred and twenty-six feet, and that of St. Paul’s at London one hundred and eight feet. The interior of St. Sophia is oval in shape, the greatest length being two hundred and fifty feet and the narrowest one hundred feet, with aisles and recesses of eighty feet on either side, making the entire width from wall to wall two hundred and sixty feet. There are one hundred and fourteen columns, forty supporting the galleries and seventy-four the dome. One hundred architects were employed as superintendents, under each of whom were a thousand men, including masons, carpenters, laborers, decorators and others.
Externally the building is very ugly—a mass of irregular blank walls and domes painted a hideous yellow with black stripes, reminding one of a convict’s garb. But the interior is majestic in its beauty, and, according to a famous architectural authority, “is the most perfect and the most beautiful church ever erected by any Christian people.” The chief charm of the interior is its massive simplicity and perfect proportions. It is almost entirely without ornamentation, except the mosaic work upon the walls and ceiling. All the flat surfaces are covered with mosaic laid upon gold. Compared with St. Peter’s at Rome it is as empty as a barn. There are no tombs, no statues, no altars, nothing to obstruct the view in any direction; nothing to conceal the graceful outlines of the arches and the simple coloring of the walls, which is a soft yellow, nearly as deep as an orange and traced with different dark shades of green. I heard a young American critic remark that there was “nothing to see in St. Sophia,” which is almost strictly true, in comparison with the other great churches with which we are familiar. There is a beautiful balcony for the Sultan to occupy in case he should come to St. Sophia to worship, and he would be sheltered by gilded screens. The mihrab, which corresponds to the altar in Roman Catholic churches and indicates the direction of Mecca, towards which Moslems turn in prayer, is a simple recess unadorned, and near by is the mimber, or pulpit. In St. Sophia, as in all mosques which have been secured to Islam by the power of arms, the preacher still mounts the pulpit with sword in hand and hangs out a flag as a symbol of victory and conquest.
The floor of the entire mosque is covered with Turkish rugs of the richest texture, and at intervals of six or eight feet wooden troughs made of undressed lumber stretch across the entire area. These are for the convenience of worshipers and for the promotion of neatness, and when one selects a place to kneel and pray he drops his shoes into a trough. The rugs are divided into sections, plainly marked, so that the faithful cannot have any excuse for crowding each other. At two large fountains they can perform their ablutions before beginning their prayers, and above them is the sensible admonition: “Wash thy sins and not thy face only.”
Nine gates lead into the temple. Over the central one, by which the emperor entered, is painted an open book on a reading desk, surmounted by a dove with outstretched wings. Upon the pages of the book are the words: “I am the door of the sheep. By me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and go in and out and find pasture.” In the tympanum above is a mosaic, also dating back to Christian times, representing Christ upon the throne, with the words: “Peace be unto you. I am the light of the world.”
The Mohammedans have retained most of the ornamentation of the Christians, and even here and there a cross is permitted to remain, although most of them were chiseled off centuries ago. There are also several relics of Christ which they refuse to return to the Christians. The most interesting is a cradle of red marble, said to have been used by Jesus, and a basin in which He is said to have been washed.