Church of St. George, Istanbul
Encyclopedia
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Καθεδρικός ναός του Αγίου Γεωργίου, Kathedrikós Naós tou Agíou Geōrgíou, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
: Aya Yorgi) is the principal Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
still in use in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, the largest city in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and (as Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
), the capital of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
until 1453. Since about 1600, it has been the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
, the senior patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
and recognised as the spiritual leader of the world's Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Christians.
The church, dedicated to the Christian martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
, and is the site of numerous important services, and is where the patriarch will consecrate the chrism
Chrism
Chrism , also called "Myrrh" , Holy anointing oil, or "Consecrated Oil", is a consecrated oil used in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Rite Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, in the Assyrian Church of the East, and in Old-Catholic churches, as well as Anglican churches in the administration...
(myron) on Holy and Great Thursday, when needed. For this reason, the church is also known as the "Patriarchal Church of the Great Myrrh". At one time, the patriarch would consecrate all of the chrism used throughout the entire Orthodox Church. However, now most of the heads of the autocephalous churches sanctify their own myrrh.
The church is located in the Fener
Fener
Fener is a neighborhood midway up the Golden Horn within the district of Fatih in Istanbul , Turkey. The streets in the area are full of historic wooden houses, churches, and synagogues dating from Byzantine and Ottoman eras. The area's name is a Turkish transliteration of the original Greek φανάρι...
(more traditionally Phanar) (fener means Lighthouse in Turkish but possibly name comes from fenar-meaning Greek in ancient Ottoman language) district of Istanbul, north-west of the historic centre of old Constantinople. (Its address is Fener Rum Patrikhanesi, Sadrazam Ali Pasa Cadesi, Fener 34220, Istanbul.) It is a relatively small church, particularly given its status in world Christianity, this however can be explained by the islamic laws which govern the rights of Dhimmis which stipulate that all non-islamic buildings must be smaller and humbler than corresponding islamic buildings.
The church is open to the public from 8.30am to 4pm, but strict security screening is in place. It is visited by a stream of pilgrims from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and other Orthodox countries. Behind the church are the offices of the Patriarchate and the Patriarchate Library. The Church, which was part of a convent or monastery before becoming the seat of the Patriarch, is outwardly unimpressive, but its interior is lavishly decorated in the style much loved by Orthodox Christians.
History
The Patriarch Matthew IIPatriarch Matthew II of Constantinople
Matthew II was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople three times, shortly in 1596, from 1598 to 1602 and for a few days in 1603.-Life:Member of the Vlach community, Matthew was born in the village Kleinovo , and he became Metropolitan of Ioannina...
(1596-1603) moved the Patriarchate to the former convent of St George in the Phanar in about 1600. The city had been in the hands of the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
since 1453. The Phanar district became the recognised centre of Greek Christian life in the city.
The church has been reconstructed many times and little remains of its original structure. The Patriarch Timothy II
Patriarch Timothy II of Constantinople
-Life:Timothy II Marmarinos was born in Bandırma, on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara. On 28 February 1601 he became archbishop of Patras, an office he maintained till he became Patriarch of Constantinople...
(1612-1620) rebuilt and enlarged the church in 1614. It was again reconstructed under Patriarch Callinicus II the Acarnan (1694-1702). In the early 18th century (sources vary on the exact date) the church was badly damaged by fire. In 1720 Patriarch Jeremias III (1716-1726, 1732-1733), wrote to Neophytos, Metropolitan of Arta: "By the mercy and will of the All-Good God, the lords, may God grant them long life, were moved and they gave us permission to rebuild from the very foundations the holy church of our Patriarchal and Ecumenical Throne, and so we have started this building with the help of God." The restoration works of Jeremias III were continued by Patriarch Paisius II
Patriarch Paisius II of Constantinople
Paisius II Kioumourtzoglou was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for four times in the 18th century.-Life:Paisius was born in Caesarea and his family name was Kioumourtzoglou...
(Patriarch several times between 1726 and 1752).
There was another great fire in 1738, when the church again suffered severe damage. It was not until 1797 that Patriarch Gregory V
Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople
Gregory V was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1797 to 1798, from 1806 to 1808 and from 1818 to 1821. He was responsible for much restoration work to the Patriarchal Cathedral of St George, which had been badly damaged by fire in 1738...
was able to begin large-scale restoration work. The current state of the church largely dates from this rebuilding. The church has the plan of a three-aisled basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
with three semicircular apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s on the east side and a transverse narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
on the west. The interior is divided into three aisles by colonnades, with the tall pews of ebony wood placed along the line of the columns. This arrangement leaves ample space in the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
for the performance of the liturgy. In the holy bema
Bema
The Bema means a raised platform...
, behind the altar, the synthronon (cathedra
Cathedra
A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...
) is arranged in a semicircle along the curved wall of the apse, with seats for the Archpriests and a central higher throne of marble for the Patriarch.
Further changes were made to the church under Patriarch Gregory VI (1835-1840), when the roof was raised to its present height. From this restoration dates the neo-Classical marble doorway with the ornamental door-frames, which makes the front exterior of the church look rather unlike most other Orthodox churches, which are usually designed in the Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
style. The last major rebuilding was carried out by the Patriarch Joachim III
Patriarch Joachim III of Constantinople
Joachim III the Magnificent was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1878 to 1884 and from 1901 to 1912.He was born in Constantinople in 1834, with origin from Kruševo. He was educated in Vienna....
(1878-1912). The marble pavement of the sanctuary was replaced, the synthronon was renovated, marble caskets were made for the depositing of the relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s, the icon-frames were repaired and the ecclesiastical collection was enriched with liturgical vessels and vestments, all donated by Orthodox Christians, mostly from outside the Ottoman Empire.
The church was again damaged by a fire in 1941 and for political reasons it was not fully restored until 1991. Its most precious objects, saved from each successive fire, are the patriarchal throne, which is believed to date from the 5th century, some rare mosaic icons and relics of Saints Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
. Some of the bones of these two saints, which were looted from Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
in 1204, were returned to the Church of St George by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in 2004.
Since the fall of the Ottomans and the rise of modern Turkish nationalism most of the Greek Orthodox population of Istanbul has emigrated, leaving the Patriarch in the anomalous position of a leader without a flock, at least locally. Today the Church of St George serves mainly as the symbolic centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and as a centre of pilgrimage for Orthodox Christians. The church is financially supported by donations from Orthodox communities in other countries.
On 3 December 1997, a bomb attack seriously injured a deacon and damaged the Patriarchal Cathedral. This was one of the many terrorist attacks against the Ecumenical Patriarchate, its churches and cemeteries in Istanbul in recent years.The efforts to bring the terrorists to justice are continuing.
See also
- Saint George: Devotions, traditions and prayersSaint George: Devotions, traditions and prayersSaint George is one of Christianity's most popular saints, and is highly honored by both the Western and Eastern Churches. A wide range of devotions, traditions, and prayers to honor the saint have emerged throughout the centuries. He has for long been distinguished by the title of "The Great...
- Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleThe Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...