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Hagia Sophia: The Early Churches

Arianism Trinitarianism

2.1 The First of three Churches

Constantine I wasn’t just a builder of cities; he was a builder of order. On the site where the Hagia Sophia stands today, his son Constantius II commissioned the first great church (often called the Great Church, Megale Ekklesia) on February 15, 360 CE. This was the first of the three churches built on the same site. (Constantius II was a devout Arian nontrinitarian Christian).

Many readers will be surprised to learn that for several decades, Constantinople was an Arian city. The “Great Church” (the first Hagia Sophia) was often led by Arian nontrinitarian bishops.

High-ranking officials and the Germanic tribes who protected the city were almost all Arians.