Istanbul and the Orthodox Church Monday

Another fantastic day. Please feel free to post comments, I love hearing from you. Or, send email, I am checking when I can. Twelve hour days seem to be the norm, but what richness!

Clearly the highlight of today was meeting the Ecumenical Patriarch - a gentle, deeply spiritual man who welcomed us warmly. We spent an hour with him. Bishop Hanson delivered formal greetings, the Patriarch responded with genuine and heartfelt conversation. One concern coming into this meeting was that the decisions of the Churchwide Assembly in August would jeopardize the on-going dialogue between the ELCA and the Orthodox Church. Very early in his comments Patriarch Bartholomew said, "we look forward to continuing dialogue with you." He gave a clear signal, one reiterated by the ecumenical committee with whom we met for two hours after meeting the patriarch, that dialogue would continue. The committee let us know that these "moral"decisions caused "difficulties." Speaking with a staff person later, he told me, "our congregations are very conservative on these matters."

I am finding this a little like diplomatic relations. We listen for signals. Rarely is conversation frank and forth right. Rather, we want to proceed incrementally. Direct questions might be answered with veiled answers. Carefully crafted questions might be answered directly. A careful dance.

If you have interest in the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew please take a look at his interview with 60 minutes. The interview is available on the web and is worth taking a look.

This afternoon we visited the church of the "Holy Savior in the Country." I have posted details from a website in what follows. The Orthodox call in Chora (I1000 - 1300).

Now a museum, formerly a mosque and originally built as "Church of the Holy Saviour in the Country" or "Church of St Saviour in Chora", the structure sat outside the Constantinian Walls. It became encompassed by the Theodosian fortifications some years later, though it was many centuries until it was incorporated into the urban landscape.

Half a century after the Fall of Constantinople, the church was converted to a mosque and its many frescoes and mosaics hidden behind a layer of plaster, in accordance with Muslim prohibition of icons.

No longer a place of worship, today the museum is considered one of the finest examples of a Byzantine church, its magnificent artworks once again on display after ten year’s restoration work in the middle of last century.

Read more at Suite101: Kariye Museum and Istanbul's Old Walls: Brick, Mortar and Mosaic Bring Byzantium Alive http://turkey-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/kariye_museum_and_istanbuls_old_walls#ixzz0eypkLY63

What the article doesn't say is that the church was taken by the Muslims and then by the Turkish government. The government now runs it as a museum - as they do Hagia Sophia which we will visit tomorrow.

I have included two photos. The first of time after the audience with the Patriarch. I took two great shots of the patriarch as I sat nearly next to him, but neither one came out. I attempted to take them without really looking at the camera (I didn't want to disrespect him in any way even - even though his assistant told us we could take all the pictures we wanted). Well, not looking at the camera meant I didn't get a picture - darn! Fortunately John Brooks, the ELCA news person took many pictures. I will post some in the next few days. Anyway, this one was taken during the brief mingle time.

The second picture is from St. Savior in Chora. Take a look at Wikipedia for more history and search the web for some great pictures. This painting (on the ceiling) depicts Adam and Eve being pulled from Gehenna by Christ, after the resurrection. Notice Eve has no left hand because that is the one that held the apple. We found amazing frescoes and mosaics in Chora. A series of three depicted the conception of the Virgin Mary, her childhood and then Joseph's proposal of engagement. The fresco of proposal depicts a number of suitors who come to call. Joseph's staff experiences a spontaneous blossom on top leading her parents to pick him while another man stands in the background weeping because he was not chosen.

Tomorrow, Hagia Sophia and then fly to Rome.