Did Hagia Sophia continuously serve as a cathedral from 360 to 1453?

💡 The Answer

• No, it was interrupted by the Latin Crusader occupation from 1204 to 1261.
• During that period, the Latin Crusaders installed their own hierarchy.
• After 1261, Byzantine rule restored it as an Orthodox cathedral.
• It remained an Orthodox cathedral until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
• Thus, it was not continuous but had a 57-year gap.