Επιστολή
στον Ερντογάν
για την Αγιά Σοφιά
έστειλε η Κυπριακή Επιτροπή
Βυζαντινών Σπουδών
To:
His Excellency, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
President of the Republic of Turkey
Prot. No 085/2020
Lefkosia, June 20th, 2020
Your Excellency,
During the last period, the international community, both academic and
non-academic, has expressed its concern regarding the perspective of changing
the museum-status of Hagia Sophia. What causes such reactions is strictly the
preservation of the cultural character of a historic building. These reactions
concern all countries and civilizations on earth unilaterally, and they prevail
over any political or religious intention to interfere with the internal
affairs of the Turkish Republic.
The same concern would be raised, for example, if the status of the
classical character of the monuments of Acropolis in Athens would be changed
and a “modern” use of them as Christian church or Mosque would be proposed by
the Greek Government, on the base that the Parthenon served for several
centuries as a church and later as a mosque. Furthermore, a similar concern
would be addressed if the Italian government would decide that the Pantheon in
Rome should be given to the Christian worship, as it had been operating for
many centuries.
The Cyprus Committee for Byzantine Studies, one of the oldest Committees
of the International Association for Byzantine Studies, includes Greek and Turk
academics of the island among its members, which offers a valuable example of
our long-standing practice regarding the respectful custody of monuments of
each religious community. Several monuments of high religious importance for
Christians in the north, such as the Monastery of Apostle Barnabas, founder of
the Church of Cyprus, the church of Archangel Michael in Kyrenia, the painted
church of Panagia in Trikomon near Famagusta, all operate as museums offering
access to every visitor. The nearby erection of modern mosques that cover the
religious needs of the inhabitants has been proven a successful contemporary
solution under the circumstances, avoiding the prohibition of access to the
historical monuments or their damages caused by the transformation of their
previous museum-status, as, unfortunately, the cases of St. Sophia Church in
Trebizond, St. Sophia in Nikaia/Iznik or St. Sophia in Vizye/Vize demonstrate.
We do not share the view, that Islam values need Christian legs in order to
stand better. In the same way, almost all mosques in the southern part of
Cyprus, which were abandoned by Muslims after 1974 - even those that were
initially built as medieval churches – still operate as museums. These were
preserved and restored by the Government, whereas new churches were built
nearby for the Christians.
ΠΕΡΙΣΣΟΤΕΡΑ για την ΑΓΙΑ ΣΟΦΙΑ, ΕΔΩ.
In countries privileged to preserve monuments of world importance,
“sovereignty”, according to the UNESCO Convention of 1972, signed also by
Turkey, does not mean just the ownership of them – which in the case of Hagia
Sophia is unquestionable – but underlines their opportunity to become universal
examples of their restoration, safeguarding them through protective legislation,
studying and promoting them by transforming them into stepping stones for the
international cooperation among cultures and religions. In this frame the work
done during the last decades by archaeologists and restorers in Hagia Sophia in
order to preserve part of the floor, to rediscover important mosaics of the
Palaiologan period and to reveal the mosaic face of a seraphim was a positive
step. The wise decision of every country’s ruler for the fate of such universal
monuments is the criterion which immortalizes him in world cultural history or
not. Therefore, we kindly ask you to protect Hagia Sophia’s museum-status.
Respectfully yours,
Charalampos G. CHOTZAKOGLOU
Chairman of the Board
ΠΗΓΗ: ΚΥΠΡΙΑΚΗ ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΗ ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΩΝ ΣΠΟΥΔΩΝ (Κ.Ε.Β.Σ.) / BYZANTINES CHYPRIOTE COMITÉ DES ÉTUDES (C.C.E.B.), June 20th, 2020.
ΑΡΧΕΙΟΝ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ, 21.6.2020.
ΛΕΞΕΙΣ: ΑΓΙΑ ΣΟΦΙΑ, Κυπρος, μονη αποστολου Βαρναβα, μονη Αραχγγελου Μιχαηλ Κηρυνεια, Παναγια Τρικωμον, Τρικωμο, Αμμοχωστος, Αγια Σοφια Τραπεζουντος, Αγια Σοφια Νικαιας, Αγια Σοφια Βιζυης, Τραπεζουντα, Νικαια Βιθυνιας, Βιζυη Θρακης
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