…straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Luke 21:28
There are a lot of mosques in Turkey. Maybe that seems a little obvious a statement, and I seem foolish for mentioning it. I did expect there to be quite a lot of mosques in Turkey. I mean I have seen the Turkish flag, and it was the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate for nearly 500 years.
The mosques in Turkey are spectacular; covered in brilliant calligraphy and mesmerizing medallion artwork for which they Ottoman Turks became famous. The Koran prohibits depictions of faces, so abstract flowers and patterns are standard decor in places of prayer, as are the impressive minarets which are used to announce the five times daily prayers.
To the Turks we spoke to, it seemed important that these calls sound; however, we saw very few local observing prayers. Mostly, it was Muslim tourists who had traveled to Turkey to site-see just like us, further underscoring modern Turkey’s secular nature.
The thing is, for nearly 1000 years, the area now known as Turkey was full of churches. This seems unfair until you remember that 1000ish years before that the city was full of pagan temples.
It’s funny. Many of the pagan temples were torn down and the materials used to build churches or public works. Then under the Ottomans, many of the churches were torn down or converted into mosques.
In Istanbul, there were only a few standing buildings from the Byzantine period were salvaged as church-museums, most notably the Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene. There are one or two more which are condemned buildings and a few more that are in states of ruin.
The one pictured above is called The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora. It has the second most mosaics and frescoes from Byzantine era in Istanbul, and really there were very few which survived the Ottomans and the earthquakes.
I don’t mind telling you that I found this place utterly overwhelming.
I spent about an hour, mouth agape, head thrown back, in awe at these glorious images. The life and ministry of Jesus were tiled into the edifice with brilliant gold accenting. There was also an area which presented the life of Mary.
However, It was the frescoes which I found the most breathtaking. The one pictured above is of the Anastasis, the Easter Theological term for the resurrection of Jesus and his. This chapel area is covered in depictions of Christ’s resurrection, second coming, the resurrection of the faithful and the final judgment.
What I love about this image is that Jesus has shattered chains surrounding his feet. He grabs the wrists of Adam and Eve who are being wrenched from their burial coffins.
And their faces seem to suggest they surprised and actually a bit reluctant.
In the course of our journey through mosques and ruins and museums, it was a surprise to me to find Jesus, Adam, and Eve rising before me, chains broken, battle won, death defeated. I plastered my eyes upwards; glued to the resurrected Christ moving heavenward with his beloved children. The atmosphere in that church was glorious. Even in ruins and buzzing with tourists you could feel the triumph of Christ over death.
It felt so much different than every other place we had been.
The etymology of the term Muslim is ‘one who submits’ which means Islamic Holy Places are designed to bring you down and inward. For example, even in the grandest mosques in Istanbul, there were low hanging lamps to make the room feel lower. There is of course carpet so that kneeling for prayer is better facilitated. Every time we entered a mosque I was supposed to veil my head (which I did not mind at all), but it was another way to draw one inward.
There are many Christian places and traditions which capitalize on the idea of submission and conformity. It could be conformity to a worship style or monastic order or even the use of Scripture.
However, if in our conformity we are not moved to the hope of resurrection, then that conformity is not something that is from Jesus. Jesus claims these beautifull life-giving things which surprised those around him.
Things like:
- I am the Resurrection and the Life… John 11:25
- The Lord has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor. Luke 4:19
- Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
These sayings are designed to send the heart soaring, just like the frescos in the Chora Church. In Christ, we have the hope of glory, the hope of salvation.
We hold a promise that the end is not the end, and that means we can hold our heads a little higher.
Kena Hawkins Newkirk 