This Week in Church History
On May 29, A.D. 1453, the final Christian worship service was held in one of the most beautiful churches ever built: Hagia Sophia [i.e., Church of Holy Wisdom].
This basilica was the “crown and glory” of Constantinople and, while it was a very well-fortified city, it had been under Muslim siege for over a month. The Emperor knew it would not stand much longer against so formidable a foe, so he sent for help from his Christian brethren in Europe.
When the Emperor received word that no assistance would be coming, he called for a solemn service of prayer. His people prayed through the night while the Muslim army prepared a team of “special forces” for the final attack.
This “special unit” of Muslim mercenaries consisted of kidnapped Christian children, who had been reprogrammed into Muslim militants.
At the dread break of dawn, the enemy advanced and the carnage was indescribable. The men were impaled, the women were raped, property was looted, buildings were burned, and the city streets were soaked in Christian blood.
Constantinople was renamed as Istanbul and the Hagia Sophia was converted to a Mosque. In other words, the Cross of Christ was replaced with the Crescent Moon of Mohammed.
Demographic trends in many European nations suggest that they will become predominantly Muslim within the next few generations, so here is a question that haunts my mind on occasion:
When Islam sets its sights on the next Christian civilization to conquer, will there even be any brothers left in the world to call upon for help?
PS – I almost feel like apologizing for posting such a “downer” of an article, but history is real and it does tend to repeat itself.
– Pastor McShaffrey