The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-01-04
THE RETURN OF THE CROSS TO
ST. SOPHIA.

| great pOpuldT pdSSlOu. AL O4SAnCACd1,
overmastering human purpose has
had more to do with beginning and
prosecuting the wonderful war than
all the schemes of chancelleries and
war offices. This determination on
the part of the plain people is called
the great idea" When first / en-
countered it, writes William T. Ellis
in the Philadelphia North American,
in Athens, l was somewhat puzzled to
find the phrase "the great idea'' being
used as definitely as though it meant
something as tangible as Pears soap.
Later 1 learned that throughout the
Balkans and up along the Mediter-
ranean coast, as we'll as in Russia,
''the great idea" is a common and well
understood slogan of peasant, priest
and politician.
The ''great idea," which is nothing
less than racial and a religious pas
sion, is the return of the cross to ST..
Sophia. This is the war cry of the
battling Christians, the pent-up deter
mination of centuries. They care
more for seeing the cross above the
great dome of the mosque of ST..
Sophia where now crescent shines
in the sun, than they do for seaports
or territory All the allies want of
Constantinople is an opportunity to
tear down that usurping crescent and
restore the cross, "the trademark of
Christianity"
Honored above all the heroes of
war will be the hand that undoes this
ancient dissertation of the oldest and
largest of all existing Christian edi-
fees. The zeal of the crusaders of the
middle ages for the capture Of the
sepulchre was no greater than the
eagerness of oriental Christians to
crown st. Sophia with the cross.
Cross Is Test of Faith.
There is nothing in American life
by which this deep human passion
for a great religious ideal may be
measured. The cross itself is not
revered here as in the Levant. Even
the Catholic Church in this land,
which makes a far greater use of the
symbol than does Professionalism, can
not parallel the intense fervor with
which the members of it's own body in
the East, and the other oriental
Christians as we'll, regard the cross.
1t is the test of their faith. In the
presence of Moslem persecution, and
at the threat of death, they stand by
the cross, refusing to spit upon it or
trample it under foot, which is the
form of remuneration of faith de
manded by Moslems. In the region
of the war, it has been for centuries
almost an everyday occurrence for
men, women and even little children
to die before they will be false to the
cross.
Once, when visiting the ruins of the
Church of st. John the Divine, in
Ephesus, caught my horseboy, a
poor, untutored peasant, fervently
kissing one of the old marble crosses
when he thought my back was turned
This passion for the cross in the
Orient is one of the romances of re
ligion.
Constantinop1e, in the popular mind
stands for Constantine the Great, who
founded it at first under the name OF
New Rome" as the capital of the
Roman empire. He it was who, in
the year 312, saw the legend in the
heavens, "In hoe signo vinces," and
became the first Christian emperor Of
Rome. His hippodrome may still be
seen, hard by the Mosque of st. So
phia, over in old STEAMBOAT. And this
immense and beautiful structure, one
of the first in all the world, called the
Church of the Holy Wisdom" has
stood sentinel for Christianity since
it's dedication on Christmas day, 538
1t replaced two earlier structures, the
first of which was probably begun dur
ing the reign of Constantine himself
The glory and triumph of Byzantine
: art, st. Sophia is still more revereG
as the scene of great church councils
and as identified with the names Of
the church fathers during the years
when the teaching of the lowly Nazar
enc was assuming imperial dimen
sions.
When Constantinople, the eastern
capital of the Holy Roman Empire
fell before the invading Turks in 1853
| the great church was made into E
mosque. Four minarets were built a
the corners of the building-the cen
trail hall of which is 235 by $50 fee
in extent-and above the majestic
dome, which is 107 feet in diameter
and As feet deep, was placed the cres
cent of the caliph.
Covered Christian Mosaics.
This triumph of eastern art had OF
its walls rich mosaics, showing thu
Christ, the cross and scenes from
. sacred history. All of these the Turks
carefully plastered over, so that M
vestige of the Christian character o
j the building might remain. Half +;
r sculptured marble cross was over
r looked in one corner, and this il
: shown to tourists.
{ Almost prophetic is the fact that re
r Gently the plaster has been wearinI
Y off the walls, and the mosaics are be
ginning to show through. The eros
is coming back!