RT Journal
A1 Harris JC
T1 HAgia sophia (divine wisdom)
JF Archives of General Psychiatry
JO Archives of General Psychiatry
YR 2009
FD April 1
VO 66
IS 4
SP 353
OP 354
DO 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.26
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.26
AB 
Among churches, the traditional setting for religious practice, Istanbul's Hagia Sophia (from the Greek for divine or holy wisdom) is one of the most renowned. It was founded as the Megale Ekklesia (Great Church) only 30 years after Constantine, the first Christian ruler of the Roman empire, transferred the imperial capital from Rome to the ancient city of Byzantion, renaming it Constantinople. There Christianity replaced belief in the ancient Roman gods as the official religion of a culturally and religiously diverse state. Serving as the cathedral, or bishop's seat, the church was built on a peninsula at the top of the first hill visible from the sea as ships enter the city. It was surrounded by water on 3 sides, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus, and the Golden Horn. By AD430, the Great Church was known as the Hagia Sophia and dedicated to the wisdom of God. Destroyed by fire in 532, it was restored by Emperor Justinian in 537, and for nearly 1000 years, it was the most important church in Christendom.2