Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy (726-843) and the Hagia Sophia: The Impact of the Controversy of Images on the Ornaments of the Church

Year 2023, , 1 - 22, 27.07.2023

Bilal Bas

https://doi.org/10.51490/oksident.1292711

Abstract

When the Byzantine Emperor Justinian inaugurated the Church of Hagia Sophia in 537 AD, mosaic icons did not exist. Instead, Justinian’s program included non-figurative and abstract decorative motifs and lots of crosses. The first appearance of the mosaic icons was dated to the late ninth century, after the final victory of the Iconodule theology in 843. The Orthodox church doctrine venerates icons as an object of worship in both public and private devotion. This doctrine mainly resulted from the Iconoclastic Controversy (726-843). It was a doctrinal controversy over the legitimacy of the employment of the pictures of Christ, Mary, and other holy people in worship in Christianity. The controversy took place mainly in Constantinople, where Hagia Sophia stood as the largest church of the entire empire. Therefore, the church witnessed the controversy as its outcome found its place on her walls and ceilings. In other words, when the traditional Iconoclastic view was dominant in the church, Hagia Sophia’s decorations included only non-figurative motifs and crosses. In contrast, icons began to appear in the Hagia Sophia after the vindication of Iconodulism as the official doctrine of the church. The purpose of this essay is to shed some light, with the help of modern studies, on the Iconoclastic and Iconodule theologies underlying these two kinds of alternative decorations. In this context, we will refer to Horos of the Iconoclastic Council of Hiereia in 754 for the Iconoclastic theology, and to the theological writings of John of Damascus for the Iconodule theology. By doing this, we will show how these alternative theological standpoints translated into the walls and ceilings of the Hagia Sophia.

Keywords

Hagia Sophia, icons, Iconoclasm, Council of Nicea II

Bizans İkonoklazm Tartışması (726-843) ve Ayasofya: Tasvir İhtilafının Mabedin Tezyinatına Etkisi

Abstract

Bizans İmparatoru Jüstinyen 537 yılında bugünkü Ayasofya’yı ibadete açtığında, bugün büyük mabedin en dikkat çekici unsuru olan figüratif mozaik süslemeler ortada yoktu; Jüstinyen’in mozaik programı bunların yerine soyut motifler ve haç figürleri içeriyordu. Ayasofya’daki mozaik ikonaların ilk örnekleri dokuzuncu asır sonlarına tarihlendirilir. Bu ise ikonoklazma hareketinin 843 yılında tamamen mağlup edilmesinden sonrası demektir. Bilindiği gibi bir ibadet objesi olarak değerlendirilen ikonalar Ortodoks Kilisesi’nce çok önemli kabul edilirler. İkonoklazm (726-843) Hz. İsa, Hz. Meryem ve Hıristiyan azizlerinin ikona denilen iki boyutlu tasvirlerinin ibadet objesi olarak kullanılmasının Hıristiyan dininde meşru olup olmadığı konusunda dinî-siyasî bir tartışmadır ve başlangıcından sonuna kadar ağırlık merkezi başkent konumundaki İstanbul olmuştur. Bu itibarla Ayasofya mabedi bu ihtilafa tanıklık etmiştir ve bu tartışmalar mozaiklerindeki tasvirlere yansımıştır. Bir başka deyişle, Tasvir Karşıtı/İkonoklast anlayışın hâkim olduğu zamanlarda figüratif tasvirler yerine haç başta olmak üzere soyut semboller konulmuş, Tasvir Taraftarı/İkonodul anlayışın hâkim olduğu zamanlarda ise figüratif süslemeler yani ikonalar Ayasofya’yı süslemiştir. Bu makalenin amacı, bahsi geçen modern çalışmaların ışığında, İkonoklazm döneminde ve sonrasında yapılan mozaik tasvirlerin altında yatan İkonoklast ve İkonodul teolojileri göstermeye çalışmaktır. Bu bağlamda, referans olarak İkonoklast teoloji için 754 tarihli Hiereia Konsili karar metnini (horos) ve İkonodul teoloji için de Şamlı Yuhanna’nın risalelerini kullanacağız ve bu düşüncelerin mozaiklere nasıl yansıtıldığını örneklerle ortaya koyacağız.

Keywords

Ayasofya, ikonalar, İkonoklazm, II. İznik Konsili

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