“Peace Shall be a Pathway for His Feet.”

A Byzantine icon of Christ as the Great High Priest, seated on a bishop’s throne (cathedra), as the donor and his son kneel in supplication. Christ’s hand is raised in blessing, typically accompanied by the greeting, “Peace be unto all.”
Christ depicted as a bishop at the Eucharist, giving Holy Communion to the apostles; St. Paul leads those approaching the chalice while St. Peter leads those approaching from the other side. The assembly of the apostles is typically a depiction of the Church assembled in peace as the Body of Christ, in which all peoples can be reconciled.

“Righteousness shall go before him, and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.” (Psalm 85:13)

On the most straightforward, historical level, peace was the pathway for the Gospel insofar as the pax Romana made it possible to preach the Gospel from Syria to Great Britain, from Egypt to the North Sea. Apostles and missionaries were able to travel the system of Roman roads–many of which still exist–which were kept safe by the Roman soldiers and the sheer number of people travelling on the roadways. Although it was safe to travel from one end of the empire to the other, it was expensive. Apostles and missionaries needed financial support from their home parish or would stop and work to support themselves as they made their journey.

The peace and stability of the Roman empire not only enabled the growth of the Church but made it possible for letters and communication to be shared. It was the re-establishment of the “Roman peace” that the many kingdoms of western Europe during the Middle Ages aspired to.

Peace is also understood to be the pathway for Christ to meet the worshipper at the celebration of the Eucharist. Each person who approaches the altar, walking towards encountering Christ in the Holy Gifts of the Eucharist, must first make peace with their neighbors either by exchanging the Kiss of Peace or by heeding Christ’s admonition to “leave your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother has anything against you; go, be reconciled and then come to offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). Peace and reconciliation between Christians was the road that had to be built or repaired to make Christ’s arrival possible.

Christ himself was also understood to be the peace of God; in Constantinople, the church of the Holy Peace is nowadays sometimes called St. Irene’s but which was always understood previously to be dedicated to Christ, the Peace of God.

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace.” (Ephesians 2:14-15 )

(The great cathedral of Hagia Sophia was also understood to be dedicated to Christ, the Wisdom of God, rather than the woman-martyr St. Sophia.)

Black Monday, 1453

Hagia Sophia, the great cathedral of Holy Wisdom, was built by the emperor Justinian and was the largest dome in the world until the Astrodome was built. The minarets were added by the Turks when they converted the cathedral into a mosque after they captured the city in 1453.

Hagia Sophia, the great cathedral of Holy Wisdom, was built by the emperor Justinian and was the largest dome in the world until the Astrodome was built. The minarets were added by the Turks when they converted the cathedral into a mosque after they captured the city in 1453.

May 29, 1453. It was a Monday and lived on as “Black Monday” in Orthodox territory because that was the day that the great city of Constantinople fell to the Turks. Byzantium came crashing to a halt and the Ottoman Empire arose from its ashes, ruling much of the Middle East as well as portions of Central and Eastern Europe until it ceased to exit in 1923.

The conquest of Constantinople reinforced Byzantine expectations that the world was about to end. Byzantine churchmen calculated that the world would be 7,000 years old on September 1, 1492 and would therefore end on that day. They thought the Turks were the forerunners of the Antichrist and the Turkish conquest of New Rome, the official title of the city, the beginning of the last period of world history.

The art of the Seljuq Turks is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, through July 24. Among the treasures displayed there are the harpy pitcher (see below). Harpies, birds with the heads of human women, are an image the Turks inherited from the classical Greeks. The Turks associated harpies with the astrological sign of Gemini and brought happiness in their wake. They were considered protective creatures. Spotting one was a good omen. This is all in marked contrast with the classical perception of harpies as wicked, dangerous creatures who delighted in abducting and torturing their victims.

Harpy pitcher