Restore Agia Sophia

Agia Sophia, the Church of God's Wisdom as it was known, was closely identified with the life of Byzantium and its renowned capital Constantinople, today's Istanbul. Agia Sophia has been for many centuries the symbol of Christianity and of divine power throughout the Byzantine Empire and the Christian world.

Built on a hill near Bosporus, in the area of Constantinople that also housed the Great Palace, the Hippodrome and the Augusteum, the "Great Church" for centuries served as the center of Ecclesiastical life for Christendom.

In times of crises, such as sieges, starvation and epidemics, all Christians, Catholic and Orthodox, sought salvation and Holy Grace from the Basilica of Agia Sophia.

Agia Sophia as we know it today was built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian and it accommodated 23,000 people. Its splendor, according to Byzantine writers of the time was without equal. Nothing like it was built before or after. The "Great Church" was dedicated to Jesus Christ the "Wisdom of God", and celebrated its feast day on Christmas (December 25).

Agia Sophia was consecrated in a magnificent ceremony on December 27, 537, A.D., by Emperor Justinian and Patriarch Minas. When the Emperor entered the Church through the royal gates he was so stunned by the grandeur of his work that he turned to heaven and exclaimed "Glory to God that I have been judged worthy of such work. Oh, Solomon I have surpassed thee!" referring to the magnificent Temple King Solomon had built in Jerusalem. Succeeding Emperors maintained the vast complex of Agia Sophia and enriched it with priceless gifts.

The "Great Church" remained as the mother church of Christianity and the symbol of the Orthodox Christian faith until the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

The Fall of Constantinople to the Turkish forces led by Sultan Mohammed II on May 29, 1453, interrupted the functioning of Agia Sophia as a Christian Church. By the time Mohammed the "Conqueror" entered Agia Sophia to "pray" a few days after the conquest, the Holy Christian Basilica had already been converted into a mosque.

The conversion of Agia Sophia to a mosque meant that both the interior and the exterior of the "Great Church" underwent significant alterations. The cross above the dome was replaced with a crescent and the first minaret was erected. The magnificent icon of Jesus Christ the Pantocrator (The Almighty) within the dome was gilded over, the altar and icons were removed and the irreplaceable majestic mosaics on the walls of the church were plastered over.

In the 553 years of captivity, many Ottoman Sultans showed particular interest in embellishing and maintaining Agia Sophia as a Mosque. Changes were carried out under Sultan Salim II when a second minaret was built. Two more minarets were constructed during the reign of Sultan Murat III.

With the end of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of the "modern" Turkish State, the use of Agia Sophia as a mosque came to an end.

In May 1934, the government of Turkey converted Agia Sophia into a museum. Today, the mother Church of Christianity, the Great Church of God's Holy Wisdom, functions as a pseudo museum with the title "Ayasofya Muzesi" hosting local and international trade shows, musical concerts, exhibitions, tourist photo ops and other commercial activities.

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My Life in Ruins GreekBoston Premiere!

Some of our long-term viewers may remember way back when GreekBoston hosted a private screening of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. We were the first in the country to promote the movie and we even did a great interview with stars Nia Vardalos and John Corbett. We're happy to say Nia is back with another movie based on her Greek heritage and filmed in Greece! We are giving away free tickets to the GreekBoston sneak preview so click here to get your tickets now!

My Life in Ruins is an upcoming romantic comedy film set amongst the ruins of ancient Greece, starring Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis, Rachel Dratch, Harland Williams and British comedy actor and impressionist Alistair McGowan. The film is about a tour guide whose life takes a personal detour, while her group gets entangled in comic situations among the ruins with a series of unexpected stops along the way. The film, which has been given a PG-13 rating from the MPAA for sexual content, is scheduled to be released June 5, 2009 in the United States, and May 7, 2009 in Greece.

Georgia (Nia Vardalos) is a Greek American tour guide, who leads an assorted group of misfit tourists who would rather buy a T-Shirt than learn about history around Greece. In a clash of personalities and cultures, everything seems to go wrong, until one day when tourist Irv Gordon (Richard Dreyfuss), shows her how to have fun and take a good look at the last person she would ever expect to find love with: her Greek bus driver (Alexis Georgoulis)

The Acropolis will soon become the backdrop for a big-screen comedy after Athens gave the green light for the glory that was Greece to be used by Hollywood for the first time.

Breaking with a no-go policy, applied without distinction to the great and good of modern cinematography, Greece's powerful archaeological council (KAS) has permitted the classical masterpiece to feature in the movie - known for the moment as My Life in Ruins, and produced by Tom Hanks.

Filming of the comedy, a life-long dream of its star, Nia Vardalos, who shot to fame with the autobiographical hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding, is expected to begin in Athens next month. Ms Vardalos, who plays an archaeologist tour guide whose groups get entangled in comic situations among the ruins, struck lucky after convincing KAS that the movie would strengthen Greece's appeal abroad.

Despite persistent requests from some of the world's most acclaimed directors, Greek officials had always rejected the idea of the site, dating from 500BC, being filmed - on grounds it would degrade a monument regarded as sacred.

The actor reportedly spent months explaining the fine details of the comedy.

The movie will be produced by Play Tone, the firm run by Hanks and his half-Greek wife Rita Wilson, and will also feature Delphi, Epidaurus and ancient Olympia. An official at the Greek culture ministry said the 2004 Athens Olympics' successful impact on tourism had "most definitely" helped win the deal. "Ultimately it was decided that a Hollywood film shot in situ after the Olympics would promote ancient Greek civilisation and have long-term benefits for the country."

Hanks, who with Ms Wilson did much to promote Vardalos, a stand-up Los Angeles comic before she was discovered by the Hollywood couple, has a holiday home in Greece and regularly visits.

The decision is all the more startling since My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a low-budget film that became the highest grossing independent feature ever released, also irritated many Greeks who were unhappy at the way they, and their ethnic cousins in the US, were portrayed.