In a previous post on the history of St. Sophia Cathedral, I mentioned that congregation was first housed in a small church in what is today the Garment District in downtown Los Angeles. Yesterday through the kindness of the cathedral, I was able to scan some of their archival photos, so I can share a couple with you.

Annunciation Church was located at 1216 San Julian St. It was dedicated in 1912 and was in use until 1952, when St. Sophia Cathedral became the new home for this pioneering Greek Orthodox congregation.

First it’s very appropriate that we view the interior of the old church in the context of a wedding. Francesco’s last post of photos from St. Sophia depicted a wedding, so now we can connect that event to this wedding photo inside Annunciation Church sometime around 1947. What a beautiful reminder of the continuity of faith to see the same liturgy being celebrated decades apart and in such different settings.

Wedding in Annunciation Church circa 1947

Exterior of Annunciation Church

Thanks once again to the ever-helpful Jimmy Karatsikis, the cathedral staff and Fr. Bill Tragus for their hospitality.

These are are few images depicted during a wedding ceremony inside the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Los Angeles. Hope you’ll enjoy them!

Here are some more photos of Hagia Sophia by fellow pilgrim Fred Miller from our recent visit to Istanbul. The first is an ambo from one of the predecessor churches, located outside the main entrance. This is a wonderful example of a classical ambo characteristic of early Christian churches, with two sets of steps leading to an elevated platform where the deacon would proclaim the Gospel. I think it offers a wonderful prototype ripe for revival by modern churches as it is so well suited to the movement of procession.

Early ambo outside Hagia Sophia

Upon entering the narthex of the church, one is struck by the beautifully preserved bronze Imperial Door. The emperor had a role in the Byzantine liturgy, which was unconstricted by our modern notions of the separation of church and state. Much of the early liturgies celebrated in Hagia Sophia were influenced the Byzantine imperial court, and these liturgies in turn helped to form our Christian liturgies, especially in the case of the four major processions of the liturgy (gospel, offertory, communion and recession).

Imperial Door of Hagia Sophia

Finally, this view of the interior of Hagia Sophia gives some idea of the splendor of the church. No wonder that Justinian, upon entering the church for its dedication, was said to have proclaimed, “Solomon, I have outdone you!”

Here, the Orthodox concept of liturgy as making heaven present upon the earth was manifested in a most spectacular way. And the Roman concept of the triumph of Christianity over the former pagan state religion was emphasized by Justinian’s incorporation of the columns of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus — one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world — as a minor detail in one corner of his temple. The large medaillion dates from the building’s conversion to a mosque and is a calligraphic representation of the name of Muhammad (peace by upon him) and the mosaic of the Theotokos as Seat of Wisdom above the apse is visible to the right.

Interior of Hagia Sophia

Again, from Istanbul, I offer a couple of photos of the Hagia Sophia. Contrary to what some may assume, Hagia Sophia — also called St. Sophia in English — is not named for a saint by the name of Sophia, but is Greek for “Holy Wisdom,” a feminine title of the Holy Spirit.

Built by the Emperor Justinian in 532, it is on the site of two former cathedrals for the city of Constantinople (Istanbul), the first of which was built by Constantine and the second of which was the episcopal seat of that most famous archbishop of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom. Constructed in only five years, the cathedral was the world’s greatest church for nearly 1,000 years. Few could begin to match its majestic splendor and immense size, with its dome reaching a height equal to an 18-story building.

Hagia Sophia influenced the design of nearly every Eastern Orthodox church constructed since its dedication, and after it was converted to a mosque in 1453 (today it is a museum, neutral ground), it also influenced the design of mosques throughout the world. It would be difficult to overstate the significance of this structure. I also wonder if even today we could match this building. With all our technology, I don’t know if we could do something like this, much less build it in five years!

When we visited Hagia Sophia yesterday, it was under renovation, but the scaffolding may give some frame of reference to appreciate the scale of the church.

Although now a museum, Hagia Sophia retains the strong aura of sacred space. One iimagines that the imperial liturgy has only just concluded, and can almost smell the last lingering clouds of incense from a thousand years ago.

Here underneath is the general view of the interior of Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral.  Since the beauty of the structure speaks by itself, I’m not going to write anything on it: just admire…

As Eric already mentioned, today we had the incredible experience of visiting, exploring and immortalizing the magnificent Orthodox structure of Saint Sophia. 

This first photo I’m posting is of the bishop’s chair on the right side of the altar and the stained glass behind.  The seat is of majestic beauty as its ornaments are endless.  Also, notice the penetrating reds that “cut through” the chair.  One of my favorite elements of this particular cathedral is “the writing on the walls” present, which are visible right behind the throne-looking seat.Please, keep on checking the site, as we will post more images very soon.  Stay tuned…

Here’s a second image depicting Christ on the cross.  This beautiful artifact is placed in a space behind the altar, which walls are covered with golden mosaics (visible in the background). 

Today Francesco, Jim and I spent the afternoon at St. Sophia Cathedral in the Pico-Union District of Los Angeles. We are grateful to the cathedral dean, Very Rev. Fr. John Bakas, and our amiable host Jimmy Karatsikis, who regaled us with stories as part of his role of the cathedral’s face of hospitality to the community. Look for Francesco to post some photos soon.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the histories of our parishes often sound sterile and clericalist. They frequently refer only to priests as builders and planners, as though no lay people were involved. Occasionally, the name of a nun or two might be included. I once drafted a parish history for an anniversary booklet that narrated lay involvement, the development of the area over 90 years and how the parish and city grew and changed together. The pastor threw it out and replaced it with a chronological list of pastors, entitled “History of the Parish.” That’s fairly typical.

But I’ve found that histories of Orthodox parishes, by contrast, are often rich and interesting, chronicling the contributions of the many lay people involved in building up the parish and constructing its buildings. The Orthodox are not afraid to give credit to lay people. And few such Orthodox histories are as colorful as that of St. Sophia Cathedral and the pride of place given by that community to the memory of Charles P. Skouras.

Charles P. Skouras

Born in 1889, Charles was one of 10 children of a poor Greek sheepherder. In 1910, he and his brothers George and Spyros arrived in St. Louis. They saved their wages as workers in downtown hotels and by 1914 they were able to open a nickelodeon on Market Street in that city, where the Kiel Opera House is now located. They began to buy other theaters, and by 1924 they owned more than 30. Among their St. Louis theaters was the Ambassador Theater Building (1925-1996), designed by the prominent Chicago theater architects Rapp and Rapp.

The three brothers continued on to become influential in the entertainment business in Los Angeles. In 1932 they took over management of some 500 Fox West Coast theaters. George became president of United Artists Theatres (now Regal Entertainment Group, owners of the Regal, Edwards and United Artists theater chains). Spyros was chairman of Twentieth Century Fox from 1942-1962 and was one of the main forces behind the creation of Century City. Charles went on to become president of National Theaters, which at the time owned 650 theaters across the nation.

The first parish of the Greek Orthodox community of Los Angeles was founded in 1908. Annunciation Church (1912) was built at 12th and San Julian Streets downtown in what is today the Garment District and served the growing community for some 50 years. In 1942, Charles, a member of Annunciation parish, decided that the tiny church was no longer adequate to the needs of the community. He purchased a lot on the corner of Pico Boulevard and Normandie Avenue, then a center of the local Greek community, and for 10 years was tirelessly involved in the construction of St. Sophia Cathedral.

In 1949, architect Albert R. Walker drew up plans for a magnificent church. In his previous partnership with Percy Eisen, Walker had designed the Oviatt Building (1927) and the Fine Arts Building (1925) downtown, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (1926) in Beverly Hills, the El Cortez Hotel (1927) in San Diego and The Breakers (1925) in Long Beach — as well as a number of theaters for the Skouras brothers. Over the next three years, the architectural firm of Walker, Kalionzes & Klingerman continued to refine the plans and supervised construction. The Athens-educated artist William Chavalas covered the interior with rich paintings, spending six months on the central dome alone, and enormous chandeliers were crafted of Czechoslovakian crystal. Chavalas also designed the stained glass windows depicting the Twelve Apostles.

All the latest technology was included, from the modern sound system to air conditioning and adjustable theatrical lighting. Even the deacon doors on the iconostasis were electric, silently gliding open and closed. Today they’re probably still the only electric deacon doors in any Orthodox church.

When St. Sophia was dedicated in 1952 as the seat of the local Greek Orthodox jurisdiction that then covered 11 Western states (the seat of the current seven-state Greek Orthodox Metropolis was later transferred to Annunciation Cathedral in San Francisco), Charles Skouras was honored by Archbishop Michael on the cathedral steps before the procession of clergy entered the church. And when Skouras died two years later, 2,200 people paid tribute to him in that great church he built as a monument to the Faith of his homeland.