Louisa GouliamakiArchbishop Ieronymos II (c), Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, leads Greek Orthodox faithful in a special Akathist prayer service July 24, 2020, in response to Turkey’s decision to designate the former Church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as a mosque. The same service had been held in Hagia Sophia during the siege of Constantinople in 1453.
Theologian Father Paul Haffner suggested the Orthodox clergy, in unity with the Catholic Church March 25, pray the ‘Akathist to Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos,’ a devotional hymn that sings the praises of the Holy Mother of God.