Set in the historic Lower Town of Thessaloniki, just south of the ancient Via Egnatia along the pedestrian axis descending toward the Thermaic Gulf, the Church of Hagia Sophia (Naos tis Agias Sofias) rises from a sunken courtyard nearly two meters below the modern street level as a cubic, solemn monument to the endurance of the Eastern Roman Empire. While the great Hagia Sophia in imperial Constantinople stands as the supreme achievement of the 6th-century age of Justinian, the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki is one of the best-preserved and most historically consequential churches surviving from the transitional 7th- to 8th-century era in the entire world of Eastern Orthodoxy.
Constructed over the foundations of a colossal 5th-century five-aisled basilica that had been leveled by an earthquake, the extant sanctuary forms the crucial architectural bridge between the Early Byzantine domed basilica and the classic Middle Byzantine cross-in-square (inscribed cross) church. Crossing the western narthex into the shadow-filled nave beneath a dome spanning more than ten meters, visitors witness a dramatic theological dialogue across the centuries: in the eastern sanctuary barrel vault and apse conch gleam golden mosaics commissioned during the Iconoclastic period under Emperor Constantine VI and Empress Regent Irene (780 to 788 CE), where an 11th-century enthroned Mother of God was later superimposed directly over an 8th-century Iconoclastic cross, while overhead in the central dome blazes the monumental late 9th-century mosaic of the Ascension of Christ, surrounded by the Virgin, two angels, and the twelve Apostles standing amid the olive trees of Mount Olivet.
ITheology of Hagia Sophia (The Holy Wisdom of God) and the Legacy of Saint Gregory Palamas
In the theological and liturgical tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy, the name Hagia Sophia (Agia Sofia) signifies the Holy Wisdom of God. Contrary to a widespread misconception among modern travelers that the church is named after the 2nd-century Roman martyr Saint Sophia, all of the great cathedrals bearing the title Hagia Sophia across the Byzantine commonwealth (in Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Trebizond, Sofia, Kyiv, and Novgorod) are dedicated directly to the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity: the Divine Logos, Jesus Christ Incarnate.
The scriptural foundation of this dedication derives directly from the epistles of the Apostle Paul (who personally preached in Thessaloniki in 50 CE and addressed two canonical Epistles to the Thessalonians), specifically 1 Corinthians 1:24: Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (Christon Theou dynamin kai Theou sophian), joined with the Old Testament prophecy of Proverbs 9:1: Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars. For Byzantine emperors, bishops, and theologians, erecting the Church of Hagia Sophia at the civic heart of the empire's second city meant giving visible architectural form to the dwelling place of the Incarnate Word of God on earth.
Beyond its Christological dedication, the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki is intimately bound to two luminous saints of Macedonian Orthodox history. The first is Saint Theodora of Thessaloniki (812 to 892 CE), the revered ascetic nun and myrrh-streamer (honored with the feminine title Myroblytis alongside Saint Demetrios the Myroblytes): her young daughter was tonsured as a nun in the convent immediately adjacent to Hagia Sophia, and an 11th-century fresco portrait of Saint Theodora still survives on the wall of the church's western narthex.
Even more central to the history of this monument is Saint Gregory Palamas (1296 to 1359 CE), the Athonite monk from Mount Athos and preeminent 14th-century Orthodox theologian who formulated the doctrinal defense of Hesychasm (inner contemplative prayer of the heart) and the theology of the Uncreated Light of Mount Tabor. Serving as Metropolitan Archbishop of Thessaloniki from 1347 until his repose in 1359, Saint Gregory Palamas had his archiepiscopal throne inside the Church of Hagia Sophia (which then served as the Metropolitan Cathedral of the city) and delivered his celebrated homilies on divine illumination and civic reconciliation from its ambo.
Byzantine historical sources of the 13th and 14th centuries record that after the knights of the Fourth Crusade occupied Thessaloniki (1204 to 1224) and temporarily turned Hagia Sophia into a Latin-rite cathedral, the liberation of the city in 1224 by the Despot of Epirus, Theodore Komnenos Doukas, elevated the Church of Hagia Sophia to the status of Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Thessaloniki. For three full centuries (from 1224 until 1523), every major ecclesiastical council, imperial thanksgiving liturgy, episcopal consecration, and archiepiscopal funeral in Thessaloniki took place beneath the golden Ascension dome of this sanctuary.
Visitors exploring the historic center of Thessaloniki should carefully distinguish between two nearby churches associated with Saint Gregory Palamas located only 300 meters apart along Agias Sofias Street: the Church of Hagia Sophia is the authentic medieval cathedral where Saint Gregory Palamas actually officiated, preached, and sat on the archiepiscopal throne in the 14th century; whereas the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Gregory Palamas at the corner of Agias Sofias and Mitropoleos Streets near the seafront is a late 19th-century Neo-Byzantine cathedral (built 1891 to 1914 to designs by Ernst Ziller) that today enshrines the silver reliquary containing the bodily relics of Saint Gregory Palamas. Visiting Hagia Sophia first and then walking three blocks south down Agias Sofias Street to venerate the saint's relics links the 14th-century setting of his ministry with his resting place.
IIFifteen Centuries of History: From the Giant 5th-Century Basilica to Iconoclasm and Modern Conservation
Stratigraphic excavations beneath the western courtyard and south of the present Church of Hagia Sophia have revealed that before the extant domed church was erected around the turn of the 8th century, this exact site was occupied in the first half of the 5th century CE by a colossal five-aisled Early Christian basilica. Measuring 53 meters in width and more than 122 meters in total length (including a colonnaded western atrium and a southern baptistery complex), that 5th-century basilica was even larger than the Basilica of Saint Demetrios and served as the first Metropolitan Cathedral of Thessaloniki until it was leveled by the catastrophic earthquake that struck Macedonia around 620 CE during the reign of Emperor Heraclius.
Roughly seven decades after that seismic disaster, in the late 7th or early 8th century CE (dated by architectural historians to circa 690 to 730 CE), imperial and ecclesiastical authorities erected the present Church of Hagia Sophia over the eastern portion of the ruined basilica. Abandoning the vulnerable timber-roofed basilica design in favor of heavy brick-and-mortar vaulting modeled on the Church of Hagia Irene in Constantinople, the architects engineered a domed cross-in-square basilica supported by four massive piers that has withstood earthquakes and fires for over thirteen hundred years.
- First half of the 5th C. CE to circa 620 CEThe colossal five-aisled Early Christian cathedral basilicaA monumental five-aisled basilica measuring 53 by 122 meters with an atrium and baptistery stands on the site as Thessaloniki's first cathedral until its destruction in the earthquake of circa 620 CE.
- Late 7th to early 8th C. CE (circa 690 to 730)Construction of the extant domed Church of Hagia SophiaThe present brick-and-stone domed church is erected on a transitional cross-domed basilica plan with ambulatory aisles and upper galleries, becoming a landmark of Byzantine transitional architecture.
- 780 to 788 CE (Reign of Empress Irene and Constantine VI)Iconoclastic mosaic decoration of the eastern sanctuary and apseDuring the joint reign of Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Empress Regent Irene, together with Archbishop Theophilos of Thessaloniki, the sanctuary vault and apse are adorned with gold mosaics featuring a great cross, vine scrolls, and imperial monograms.
- Late 9th C. (circa 880 to 885) and 11th to 12th C.Creation of the Ascension dome mosaic and the apse mosaic of the TheotokosFollowing the Triumph of Orthodoxy (843 CE), the monumental Ascension of Christ mosaic is executed in the central dome under Archbishop Paul in the 880s; in the 11th century, the enthroned Theotokos and Christ Child are set into the apse conch over the 8th-century Iconoclastic cross.
- 1224 to 1523 CEOrthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Thessaloniki and the era of Saint Gregory PalamasAfter the end of the Latin Crusader occupation (1204 to 1224), Hagia Sophia serves for 300 years as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Thessaloniki, where Saint Gregory Palamas presides as Archbishop from 1347 to 1359.
- 1523 / 1524 to 1912Conversion into the Ayasofya Camii Mosque under the Ottoman EmpireIn 1523 to 1524, Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent converts the cathedral into the Ayasofya Camii mosque. Following a fire in 1890, French scholars Charles Diehl and Marcel Le Tourneau uncover and restore the mosaics between 1907 and 1910. In 1912, the church returns to Orthodox worship.
- 1978 and 1988Seismic restoration after the 1978 earthquake and UNESCO World Heritage inscriptionAfter the magnitude 6.5 earthquake of June 20, 1978 damages the dome, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture carries out comprehensive structural consolidation and mosaic conservation; in 1988, UNESCO inscribes Hagia Sophia on the World Heritage List (Ref. 456).
Archaeological Stratigraphy in Gold Tesserae: The Iconoclastic Apse of Empress Irene (780 to 788 CE). Art historians worldwide regard the eastern sanctuary of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki as an irreplaceable historical document of the Byzantine Iconoclastic controversy. During the transitional years between the first and second phases of Iconoclasm, under the joint rule of the young Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Empress Regent Irene (specifically between 780 and 788 CE, when Archbishop Theophilos occupied the see of Thessaloniki and attended the Seventh Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 787), the barrel vault of the chancel (bema) and the semi-dome of the apse were sheathed in gleaming gold mosaics. Adhering to the aniconic aesthetic of the preceding decades, the mosaicists placed a giant jeweled Cross on a field of gold at the center of the apse conch, while adorning the barrel vault overhead with a starry cross, decorative carpets of crosses and vine leaves, and cruciform imperial monograms of Constantine, Irene, and Bishop Theophilos framing the prayer: O Christ, assist our pious sovereigns and Theophilos the Bishop.
In the 11th century, long after the definitive restoration of icons in 843 CE, Byzantine mosaicists in Thessaloniki removed the central shaft of the 8th-century Cross in the apse semi-dome and inserted in its place the monumental figure of the Theotokos enthroned holding the Christ Child. Yet the 11th-century artists worked with such reverence for the ancient surface that they left the surrounding 8th-century gold ground, the Psalm inscription, and the monograms of Empress Irene completely untouched; as a result, visitors standing in the nave today who look closely above the halo and beside the shoulders of the Virgin Mary can still clearly discern the faint outline of the horizontal arms and upper tip of the 8th-century Iconoclastic Cross embedded in the gold tesserae.
IIITransitional Cross-Domed Architecture and the 9th-Century Ascension Dome Mosaic
In the history of world architecture, the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki occupies a seminal position as the premier surviving example of a transitional domed cross-in-square basilica (cross-domed basilica): it bridges the structural gap between the 6th-century Justinianic domed basilicas of Constantinople and the compact Middle Byzantine inscribed-cross churches that flourished from the 10th century onward (such as the Monastery of Hosios Loukas and the Monastery of Daphni). The exterior forms a compact, heavy masonry rectangle measuring approximately 35 meters by 42 meters.
At the core of the interior, four massive brick masonry piers support four wide barrel vaults radiating in the four cardinal directions to form an equal-armed Greek cross. Above the central crossing, four spherical triangles (pendentives) transition to a characteristic heavy square drum with rounded corners pierced by twelve arched windows, which supports a hemispherical dome measuring 10.15 meters in diameter rising nearly 24 meters above the marble floor. Wrapping around the central cross core on the north, west, and south sides are ground-floor ambulatory aisles and U-shaped upper galleries (gynaeceum), while the eastern end terminates in a tripartite sanctuary comprising the central altar chamber (bema), the northern prothesis, and the southern diakonikon, each projecting outward as a semicircular apse.
Covering more than 150 square meters across the interior hemisphere of the 10.15-meter dome is the masterpiece mosaic of the Ascension of Christ, executed around 880 to 885 CE under Archbishop Paul of Thessaloniki. At the zenith of the dome, Christ Pantocrator sits enthroned upon a polychrome rainbow within a circular mandorla borne aloft by two flying angels. Around the base of the dome stand fifteen larger-than-life figures separated by stylized olive and pine trees on the rocky crest of the Mount of Olives: the Theotokos in the Orans prayer posture flanked by two white-robed angels pointing toward heaven beneath the inscription from Acts 1:11 ("Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?"), accompanied by the Twelve Apostles rendered in varied postures of awe and wonder.
The barrel vault of the eastern bema preserves its original late 8th-century Iconoclastic mosaic program: a radiant golden cross within a starry medallion at the crown of the vault, flanked by two richly patterned mosaic carpets containing 135 squares of alternating silver crosses and vine leaves, together with the monograms of Emperor Constantine VI, Empress Irene, and Archbishop Theophilos. Directly below in the apse conch sits the 11th-century mosaic of the enthroned Theotokos and Christ Child superimposed over the silhouette of the original 8th-century Iconoclastic cross.
In the ground-floor arcades separating the central cross from the side aisles and in the upper gynaeceum galleries, the 8th-century builders reused green and white marble column shafts and finely sculpted capitals salvaged from the ruined 5th-century five-aisled cathedral basilica that previously stood on the site: among them are exquisite Theodosian capitals with wind-blown acanthus leaves and 6th-century Justinianic basket capitals.
Within the barrel-vaulted western narthex, a campaign of 11th-century wall painting adorned the window reveals and arches with expressive fresco portraits of Eastern Orthodox monastic saints and local saints of Thessaloniki, including a celebrated depiction of Saint Theodora of Thessaloniki and Saint Euthymios.
The exterior of Hagia Sophia preserves visible layers of its medieval and Ottoman history: at the northwest corner stands a square late Byzantine bell tower alongside the stone base of the 16th-century Ottoman minaret added when Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha converted the church into the Ayasofya Camii in 1523 to 1524.
| Architectural / Artistic Element | Date and Medium | Structural Characteristics and Heritage Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Main Church Body and Central Dome | Late 7th to early 8th century CE (circa 690 to 730); thick brick-and-mortar masonry | Plan measuring 35 by 42 meters; 10.15-meter dome on a square rounded-corner drum with 12 windows; pivotal link between the domed basilica and the inscribed-cross church |
| Sanctuary Barrel Vault Mosaics (Bema) | 780 to 788 CE; marble, colored glass, and gold-leaf tesserae | Securely dated by the monograms of Emperor Constantine VI, Empress Regent Irene, and Archbishop Theophilos; premier surviving monument of the Iconoclastic era |
| Apse Conch Mosaic of the Theotokos | Gold ground and cross from 780 to 788 CE; figure of the Virgin and Child from the 11th century | Unique visual palimpsest showing the post-Iconoclastic image of the Mother of God laid directly over the arms of the 8th-century Iconoclastic cross |
| Central Dome Mosaic of the Ascension | Late 9th century CE (circa 880 to 885, under Archbishop Paul); gold and glass tesserae | One of the largest and best-preserved Middle Byzantine dome mosaics in the world, depicting Christ, the Virgin, 2 angels, and 12 Apostles amid olive trees |
| Subsurface Remains of the 5th-Century Basilica | First half of the 5th century CE (destroyed circa 620 CE); foundations and reused capitals | Foundations of a colossal 53-by-122-meter five-aisled cathedral beneath the courtyard, source of the church's 5th-century wind-blown acanthus capitals |
IVSacred Topography and Orientation
It should be noted that the Eastern Roman architects of the 5th and 8th centuries did not practice East Asian geomancy. The siting and alignment of the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki were determined by Roman-Byzantine civic planning and Christian liturgical canon: the cathedral was positioned at the administrative and ceremonial center of the Lower Town immediately south of the imperial Via Egnatia, while observing the canonical East-Southeast liturgical orientation (Ad Orientem) aligned with the ancient orthogonal street grid of Thessaloniki. The following analysis offers a comparative reading through traditional landscape morphology as practiced in the Hall of Myriad Paths.
Viewed within the overall urban landform of Thessaloniki at coordinates 40.6328 degrees North, 22.9469 degrees East, whereas the Basilica of Saint Demetrios guards the upper northern slope beneath the citadel of Ano Poli, the Church of Hagia Sophia occupies the level central plain of the coastal Lower Town (situated only 450 meters northeast of the Thermaic Gulf shoreline). In traditional urban landform analysis, this central terrace represents the level-ground gathering heart of the metropolis: to the north and northeast, the rocky ridge of Ano Poli and the distant peak of Mount Chortiatis provide the ancestral mountain backing descending through the ancient Agora, while directly in front of the church's western facade opens the broad, tree-lined expanse of Agias Sofias Square as an immediate inner forecourt.
From the western gate of the church courtyard, the pedestrian boulevard of Agias Sofias Street runs in a straight southwestward axis directly down to the coastal promenade of Nikis Avenue and the open waters of the Thermaic Gulf (the outer water court), forming a clear breeze corridor that draws sea air into the heart of the city. Equally distinctive is the sanctuary's sunken basin courtyard: because fifteen centuries of urban habitation raised the surrounding street level by 1.5 to 2 meters, the original 8th-century ground level of Hagia Sophia rests within a quiet, green-lawned depression enclosed by stone walls and shade trees. In traditional spatial aesthetics, this sunken enclosure shelters the sanctuary from urban turbulence while accentuating the hemispherical mass of the central dome rising above the plaza.
VFeast of the Ascension, Commemoration of Saint Gregory Palamas, and Parish Liturgical Life
As one of the most prestigious historic churches of the Holy Metropolis of Thessaloniki, the Church of Hagia Sophia functions simultaneously as a UNESCO World Heritage monument and a vibrant Orthodox parish church. Beneath its ninth-century golden dome, daily Matins and Vespers, Sunday Divine Liturgies, and some of Thessaloniki's most solemn weddings and baptisms are celebrated throughout the year.
| Date | Calendar | Feast and Liturgical Rite | Theological Significance and Observances at Hagia Sophia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday of the 6th Week after Pascha (40 days after Easter) | Eastern Orthodox Moveable Paschal Cycle | Great Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord (Analipsi) | Directly celebrates the theological theme of the church's monumental 9th-century central dome mosaic; marked by Festal Great Vespers and a solemn hierarchical Divine Liturgy illuminated by the 12 windows of the dome drum. |
| Pascha (Easter Midnight) and Mid-Pentecost Wednesday | Eastern Orthodox Liturgical Calendar | Great and Holy Pascha & Feast of the Holy Wisdom of God (Hagia Sophia) | Honors the Risen Christ as the Wisdom and Power of God; on Easter night, thousands of candle-bearing citizens fill Agias Sofias Square and the sunken courtyard to receive the Holy Light. |
| Second Sunday of Great Lent and November 14 | Greek Orthodox Liturgical Calendar | Feasts of Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki | Commemorates the great Hesychast theologian who occupied the archiepiscopal throne and preached inside Hagia Sophia from 1347 to 1359, linking the church with the nearby Cathedral of Saint Gregory Palamas. |
| September 17 annually | Modern Greek Orthodox Calendar | Popular Feast of Saint Sophia the Martyr and Her Three Daughters (Pistis, Elpis, Agape) | Although the Byzantine cathedral is theologically dedicated to Christ the Divine Wisdom, in modern Greek popular devotion September 17 is celebrated with crowded liturgies attended by parishioners named Sofia. |
How to view the mosaics inside Hagia Sophia at their best. Stepping down from the bustling plaza into the shaded courtyard and passing through the western narthex, visitors should walk directly to the center of the nave beneath the grand circular brass chandelier (choros) and look straight up into the 24-meter-high dome: during morning or midday hours when Mediterranean sunlight streams through the twelve arched windows of the drum, millions of 9th-century gold-leaf tesserae in the Ascension mosaic ignite with warm radiance, bringing to life the expressive gestures of the Twelve Apostles standing among dark green olive trees. Next, walk forward toward the carved iconostasis and focus on the semi-dome of the eastern apse: just above the halo and beside the shoulders of the 11th-century Theotokos holding the Christ Child, the ghostly horizontal arms and upper tip of the 8th-century Iconoclastic Cross (780 to 788 CE) remain unmistakably visible alongside the monograms of Empress Irene on the barrel vault above.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Plateia Agias Sofias, Thessaloniki 546 23, Central Macedonia, Greece
- Getting there
- The Church of Hagia Sophia stands on Agias Sofias Square in the heart of downtown Thessaloniki, just 100 meters south of Egnatia Avenue, a 7-minute walk east of Aristotelous Square, and a 10-minute walk south of the Basilica of Saint Demetrios. The Agias Sofias Station of the Thessaloniki Metro is located right at the northern edge of the square, less than 100 meters from the church entrance. Almost all OASTH municipal bus lines running along Egnatia Avenue and Tsimiski Street (including Airport Express Bus 01X and lines 02K, 03K, 05, 06, 10, 12, 33, and 39) stop at the Agias Sofias station.
- Coordinates
- 40.6328, 22.9469
Because the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki is an active Greek Orthodox parish church, visitors are required to dress modestly inside (men should wear long trousers, and women should wear skirts below the knee or modest trousers with covered shoulders; hats must be removed upon entering). Admission to the church is completely free of charge, and it is open daily from approximately 07:00 to 20:00 (with occasional midday closures between 13:00 and 17:00 on certain days). Morning and early afternoon hours provide the best natural daylight through the dome windows to view the 9th-century Ascension mosaic; visitors should refrain from flash photography or walking about the nave during Divine Liturgy, weddings, or baptisms.
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?Quick Questions
Is the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki named after a female saint named Sophia, or does the name mean something else?
In Eastern Orthodox theology and Byzantine imperial tradition, Hagia Sophia means the Holy Wisdom of God. Like the great Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the church in Thessaloniki is not dedicated to a human martyr named Sophia, but directly to the Second Person of the Holy Trinity: the Divine Logos, Jesus Christ Incarnate (in accordance with Saint Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 1:24, "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God"). In modern Greek popular devotion, however, the church also celebrates a crowded feast on September 17 in honor of the martyr Saint Sophia and her three daughters.
When was the present Church of Hagia Sophia built, and what stood beneath it earlier?
The extant domed church standing in Agias Sofias Square was built in the late 7th or early 8th century CE (circa 690 to 730 CE). Prior to its construction, during the first half of the 5th century CE, this exact site was occupied by a colossal five-aisled Early Christian basilica (measuring 53 meters wide by 122 meters long) that served as the first Metropolitan Cathedral of Thessaloniki until it was destroyed by a severe earthquake around 620 CE. Many green and white marble columns and 5th-century wind-blown acanthus capitals from that earlier basilica were reused inside the 8th-century church.
Where inside the church can visitors see physical evidence of the 8th-century Iconoclastic period under Empress Irene?
Looking up at the eastern sanctuary barrel vault (bema) and the semi-dome of the apse, visitors can see original gold mosaics securely dated to 780 to 788 CE during the joint reign of Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Empress Regent Irene (together with Archbishop Theophilos of Thessaloniki), complete with their carved and mosaic monograms. Most remarkably, in the apse semi-dome, directly behind the halo and shoulders of the enthroned Virgin Mary and Christ Child (which were inserted in the 11th century), the outlines of the horizontal arms and top of the original 8th-century Iconoclastic Cross are still clearly visible in the gold background.
What makes the Ascension mosaic in the central dome of Hagia Sophia so famous?
Executed in the late 9th century CE (circa 880 to 885 under Archbishop Paul), the Ascension of Christ mosaic covering the 10.15-meter central dome is one of the largest and most complete Middle Byzantine dome compositions surviving anywhere in the world. At the apex, Christ Pantocrator sits upon a rainbow within a mandorla carried by two flying angels, while around the lower rim stand the Virgin Mary in the Orans posture flanked by two white-robed angels and the Twelve Apostles standing between olive trees on the Mount of Olives in expressive postures of contemplation and awe.
How is the Church of Hagia Sophia connected to Saint Gregory Palamas?
From 1224 (following the end of the Latin Crusader occupation) until 1523, the Church of Hagia Sophia served as the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Thessaloniki. When the great 14th-century theologian of Hesychasm, Saint Gregory Palamas, served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Thessaloniki from 1347 until his death in 1359, Hagia Sophia was his cathedral seat where he celebrated the Divine Liturgy and delivered his famous homilies to the clergy and people of the city.