Who takes part in the Istanbul cathedral. Temples of Istanbul. Herod gives the order to begin the massacre of infants
And I invite you to a small quarter of the Fanar district (Fener, on the Fatih Peninsula, coordinates 41°1′ 44.73″N, 28°57′ 6.56″E) on the southern side of the Golden Horn Bay. Orthodox Church in Istanbul we visited when we were heading to Dolmabahce Palace, this excursion was unplanned. There are 60 Orthodox churches in Istanbul, the main one is St. George the Victorious.
Our friends had visited the cathedral earlier and strongly recommended visiting the Church of St. George (Turkish: Aya Yorgi ) , behind whose walls valuable relics are kept. The church belongs to the Orthodox shrines of Constantinople.
We went from the Sultanahmet area to the Fanar area by taxi; the service started at 10 am, so we decided to splurge a little to save time. The Cathedral of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious is the residence of the Ecumenical and Constantinople Patriarch.
Fanar district is the oldest district of Istanbul. Wealthy Greeks bought houses and land here to be closer to the patriarchal throne. Many of them have served the patriarchy for generations.
The Temple of St. George is located behind a high fence in the shadow of the beautiful minarets of Istanbul. The central gate of the temple is always closed and reminds of a long-gone history. In 1821, the execution of Patriarch George V was carried out at the gates of the shrine, who was accused of involvement in the Greek uprising and was hanged right on the gates of the temple.
In appearance, the modest basilica bears little resemblance to a cathedral, but the whole perception changes as soon as you enter the walls of a functioning temple. The building itself is surrounded by small courtyards with elegant flower beds, administrative buildings, the residence of the patriarch and a library. Behind the temple there is a bell tower.
During its history, the Orthodox church has experienced many fires and destruction. Initially, there was a convent on this site, and from 1601 the residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
We entered the temple when the service had already begun and spent about an hour in it.
The first thing that catches your eye when entering the church is the gold-covered iconostasis, mosaic icons and tall ivory candelabra - the lavish decoration that is typical of Orthodox Christianity.
To the right of the iconostasis is a fragment of a marble flagellation pillar from Jerusalem, in which part of a ring is embedded. According to legend, Jesus was chained to this ring during the scourging.
You can place your palm on the ring and pray.
Along the wall of the temple there are sarcophagi with the relics of the holy great martyrs Queen Feofania, Solomonia and Euphemia. The church contains containers with particles of the relics of Saints Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom.
In 1941, the church was badly damaged by fire. The renewed Orthodox Church of St. George the Victorious was opened after restoration in 1991.
In March 2014, on the Day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, a Divine Liturgy was held in the Church of St. George, which brought together numerous laymen and clergy, representatives of the State Diplomatic Corps and government officials. The solemn service was led by 13 patriarchs of the Orthodox churches of the world.
The liturgy was held in several languages: Greek, Church Slavonic, Georgian, Serbian, Arabic, Romanian and Albanian. In truth, the celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy took place in Istanbul.
I won’t say, but there is a belief that the Church of St. George is a place of power, it is visited by women who cannot get pregnant, one of their parishioners told us about this. There are many examples when different legends are invented for PR purposes, but often, a woman who dreams of the happiness of motherhood believes in different superstitions.
Just like hundreds of years ago, Orthodox residents of the city go to a temple in which the boundaries of time are smoothed out and minor singing returns them to that world where they feel not only descendants, but also a true part of Great Byzantium.
Photography is permitted in the Church of St. George.
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The church is open to the public every day from 8:30 to 16:00.
Emniyet-Fatih metro station
Thank you for attention!
December 9th, 2013
Today I would like to tell and show quite extensive material about what Constantinople was like before its fall exactly 560 years ago - in 1453, when it began to be called Istanbul. I think everyone knows that Istanbul is Byzantine Constantinople - the former capital of the Byzantine Empire. Now on the streets of the city you constantly come across some particles of that very, once greatest city in the world, which was called just that - the City. True, these are very tiny particles compared to what was happening here 1000 years ago - most medieval churches were rebuilt into mosques, just as ancient temples were rebuilt into churches in their time. And despite my ardent love for the East, for Islamic culture, it is incredibly interesting to find echoes of Christianity - Greek, Bulgarian, Armenian, Russian (yes, there are quite a lot of Russian artifacts here, for example, in the courtyard of the Patriarchate of Constantinople I found a bell cast by us in Gorodets, his photo is under the cut). In general, it is here, in Istanbul, that you can very clearly see how some cultures, and not even cultures, but civilizations succeeded each other, organizing a feast on the bones of the vanquished.
But before showing all the beauties of Christian Istanbul, we need to tell a little about the Byzantine Empire itself, or more precisely about how it ceased to exist. The possessions of Byzantium in the middle of the 15th century were not the largest - it was no longer the same Empire that we are used to seeing in history textbooks when studying antiquity. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Crusaders conquered the city and sat (read robbed) in Constantinople for about 50 years, after which they were driven out of here by the Venetians. So several Greek islands, Constantinople itself and its suburbs - that’s the whole empire. And the Ottomans, who were gaining power at that time, already lived everywhere around us.
Constantinople tried to conquer and was besieged by the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid, but the invasion of Timur distracted him from this great undertaking.
The city at that time lay only in the European part of present-day Istanbul and was very well fenced with a powerful wall. It was difficult to approach it from the sea because of the current, and the only more or less possible place of access was the Golden Horn Bay. The Ottomans, led by Mehmed II, took advantage of this.
Plan of Constantinople
Constantinople at the time of its fall
And for more than five and a half centuries, the greatest city in the world, Constantinople, as our ancestors called it, has been under Turkish rule. Constantine was the last of the Roman emperors. With the death of Constantine XI, the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist. Its lands became part of the Ottoman state.
The Sultan granted the Greeks the rights of a self-governing community within the empire; the head of the community was to be the Patriarch of Constantinople, responsible to the Sultan. The Sultan himself, considering himself the successor of the Byzantine emperor, took the title Kaiser-i Rum (Caesar of Rome). This title was held by the Turkish sultans until the end of the First World War. By the way, there was no special looting (for example, what the Turks committed in Smyrna already in the 20th century), despite the deep Middle Ages, in the city - Mehmed far-sightedly forbade his subjects to destroy the city.
Siege of Constantinople
This is what remains of the walls of Theodosius, in some places they are being restored, but Mehmed knew what he was doing - he was destroying for sure, although the main blow, of course, came from the bay 
All churches after the conquest were rebuilt into mosques in a very simple way - by removing the cross and erecting a crescent, adding minarets.
Despite everything that happened, many Christians remained in the city: Greeks, Bulgarians, Armenians, and they built their buildings, some of which I will show below.
For example, the building of the Greek Lyceum, which does not fit into the city architecture at all, but serves as an excellent landmark in Phanar and Balata 
The first Christian basilica on this site was erected at the beginning of the 4th century on the site of the ruins of the ancient temple of Aphrodite under the Roman emperor Constantine and was the main temple of the city until the construction of Hagia Sophia. In May - July 381, meetings of the Second Ecumenical Council were held there.
In 346, over 3,000 people died near the temple due to religious disagreements. In 532, during the Nika revolt, the church was burned and then rebuilt under Justinian in 532. The church was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 740, after which it was largely rebuilt. The figurative mosaics perished during the era of iconoclasm; in place of the traditional Savior Pantocrator, a mosaic cross flaunts in the conch.
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the church was not converted into a mosque and there were no significant changes in its appearance. Thanks to this, to this day the Church of St. Irene is the only church in the city that has preserved its original atrium (a spacious, high room at the entrance to the church).
During the 15th-18th centuries, the church was used by the Ottomans as an armory, and starting in 1846, the temple was turned into an Archaeological Museum. In 1869, the Church of St. Irene was converted into the Imperial Museum. A few years later, in 1875, its exhibits were moved to the Tile Pavilion due to insufficient space. Finally, in 1908, a Military Museum was opened in the church. Nowadays, the Church of St. Irene serves as a concert hall and you can’t just get into it. 
Istanbul is a multinational city, where numerous representatives of various concessions and nationalities live peacefully. Almost half of all those who come to Istanbul are people of the Orthodox faith; Catholics visit the city less often. It will be even more interesting to take excursions to Orthodox places in Istanbul.
In contact with
One of the famous attractions of Istanbul, included in many city tours, is located on the grounds of Topkapi Palace. It is the oldest church in the city - its foundation dates back to the reign of Emperor Constantine. In the 4th century it was burned to the ground, but at the behest of Justinian it was rebuilt almost from scratch.
After the fall of Constantinople, the building housed the arsenal of the Janissaries, and then the room was used as a clothing warehouse. According to legend, this is where the sarcophagus with the remains of Emperor Constantine is located. Today, the Church of St. Irene is open for tours; cultural events and exhibitions of various types are often held here.
Address: Türkiye, Istanbul, Fındıklı Mah.Hancıoğlu cad. Yalcın Sokak.21.7. Opening hours: all days (except Monday). Only for group excursions, by appointment.
Once upon a time in ancient times, it was she, known to the entire Christian world, who stood in Constantinople near the imperial palace itself, on the estate of Blachernae. The initiator of the construction was Empress Pulcheria. A palace was built nearby, which became the main imperial residence. The shrine attracted numerous pilgrims. Unfortunately, Today, only ruins remain of the unique structure.
There was an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, with which many miracles are associated. One legend says that one day a local holy fool named Andrei saw the Virgin Mary walking across the sky, praying and crying, and then took off her light veil and spread it over the city, as if covering it. This holiday subsequently began to be celebrated as the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, and the icon was presented as a gift to the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the 17th century (now the icon is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery).
Address: Bostan sok., 47. Opening hours: daily from 10 to 17 hours. Free admission.
Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Being very ancient, it was built in ancient times, when Emperor Justinian reigned (in 527). This religious building also has its own name - “Little Hagia Sophia”. The shape of the building also does not resemble a traditional church - an octagon is inscribed in a rectangle.
It was once lavishly decorated with mosaics, but due to numerous wars and earthquakes, practically nothing remained of the mosaics. In the 16th century, after the conquest of Constantinople, it was given the status of a mosque; today it is open to its parishioners every day.
Address: Türkiye, Istanbul, Demirci Reşit Sokak 28. Admission is free.
Today it has a different name - Kariye Cami. Translated from Greek, “chora” (like “brown” from Turkish) means “suburb”. Previously, it was located outside the city, but is now part of the Edirnekapi district of Istanbul. Chora (as it is also called) gained worldwide fame thanks to its skillfully executed mosaics and frescoes.
Unfortunately, not all of them have survived to this day, but the surviving examples have deep religious significance (scenes from Christian life, as well as an image of Jesus Christ and Mary with the baby). In addition to frescoes, it is notable for its unique stone carvings.
Address: Istanbul, Kariye Mh., Kariye Cami Sk 6. Opening hours: daily (except Wednesday) from 9 to 19 hours, in winter from 9 to 16.30 hours. Ticket price: 10-12 Turkish lira.
Saint John the Baptist
It was founded by a Roman named Studius in the 5th century. She had a very large craft workshop: icons were painted here, more than 700 monks worked on ancient manuscripts, texts, and translations from ancient languages.
At the beginning of the 15th century, the building housed a university, but a century later it was converted into a mosque. Today, only the basilica remains of the church, as a result of the devastating earthquake that occurred in these parts in 1894.
Address: Balat Mh., Koltukçu Sokak No:3, 34200 Fatih. Opening hours: daily (except Monday and Tuesday), from 10 to 18 hours.
Located in Taksim area, the name in Turkish sounds like “Aya Triad”. It was originally conceived as a church for Russian parishioners, but later became Greek. Today it is the largest in Istanbul. Some icons inside the temple date back to the Byzantine period, while the frescoes on the shelf are from a later period.
It's easy to find. It is enough to walk along Istiklal Street from Taksim Square and you can immediately see Ayia Triada. Address: İstiklal Caddesi, Istanbul, Türkiye. Opening hours: daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saint Demetrius
Greek Orthodox Church that can be found in the Kurucesme area. It is famous for its healing spring. To get to the source, you need to go under the dark arches of the cave, and the closer you get to the source, the more difficult it becomes, you have to make your way almost bent over. But patience will be rewarded - the water of the source has healing properties and provides cure for many ailments.
It is small in size and resembles more a residential building than a religious building. Services are held only on Saturdays, in the morning, but they will open on knock at any time and will welcome you as if they were the most welcome guests.
Located at: Kırbas sok., No. 52, Kurusesme. Open daily (except Wednesday) from 9 am to 5 pm.
It is also called the Bulgarian Church. Located in the Golden Horn Bay, on Mursel Pasha Street. It differs from others in that covered with sheet iron.
Moreover, the entire structure is made in such a way that, if necessary, it can be quickly assembled and transported to another location. It was built for the Bulgarian minority living in Istanbul - and even today the parishioners are mainly Bulgarians. On the territory there is a small cemetery where the first Bulgarian Patriarchs are buried.
Address: Balat Mh., Ayvansaray Caddesi, 34200 Fatih, Istanbul. Opening hours: daily, from 10 to 01.00.
Saint Mary of Mongol (Bloody)
It is also called the Church of Our Lady of Panagiotossa. And she received the nickname Bloody for the blood-red color of the building, made of red brick.
It was built on the initiative of Maria, daughter of Emperor Michael XVIII Palaiologos. Maria was married to a noble Mongol khan, but even after her marriage she did not lose touch with the house and donated funds for construction.
It is located away from standard excursion routes and is also not indicated in tourist brochures, so you need to book a special excursion to get to this place. It is notable for the fact that it has never been a mosque.
Address: Firketeci Sokak No. 5 Fener İstanbul. Opening hours: daily (except Mondays), from 10 to 17 hours.
Saint Panteleimon
It was built in the 19th century in honor of the holy healer Panteleimon. She survived more than one fire, but was reborn every time. Located in the port area of Karakoy. True, the location is unusual - on the roof of an apartment building. That’s what the Turks call it – “temple on the roof.”
This house was built specifically for Christian pilgrims traveling to holy places. At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian emigrants were accommodated here. The church is active, services have been held here regularly since 1999. Address: Address: Hoca Tahsin Sok. N:19, Karakoy, Istanbul.
Church of the Keys
It also goes by the name – Church of wish fulfillment, or one day. There is one peculiarity inherent in it - you can visit it only on the first day of every month; on any other day it is closed to visitors. Despite the fact that it is Christian, more than 80% of visitors are Muslims.
When visiting, a curious ritual is performed. If someone decides to make a wish, you need to take a small key from the table (the cost of the key is 1 Turkish lira) and symbolically close the boxes standing in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary with it, make a wish and light the candle. They say everything comes true.
Address: Katip çelebi cad., Hacıkadın Bostanı sok No 13/15, Unkapanı, istanbul. Opening hours: 1st day of every month. Ticket price is 5 liras, key and candles are 1 Turkish lira each.
Many interesting facts can be learned from excursions to Orthodox shrines; each church is able to tell about the history of ancient Constantinople and the history of urban architecture. And the ancient frescoes and mosaics that have survived to this day will bring aesthetic pleasure.
Once upon a time, ancient Constantinople was both the center of civilization and the center of Orthodoxy. Modern Istanbul can well be called the center of civilization, but the status of the capital of world Christianity has long gone into history. Today, the active Orthodox churches in the largest city in Turkey can be counted on one hand, and there are only three Russian churches.
The Karakoy district is not just one of the central ones, it is also one of the most colorful areas of Istanbul. Close streets slowly rise up from the Golden Horn Bay, and restaurant life is bustling on the shore. For almost a century now, for every Russian who finds himself in Istanbul for more than a couple of nights, the Karakoy district has become a second home. Here is the old port of Istanbul, and it was here that after the 1917 revolution ships of emigrants sailed in the tens of thousands. It was with Karakey that their difficult path to a new life began. But few took root in the former Constantinople. Only a few wanted to stay in Istanbul, which was then an unattractive city to live in.
All three Russian churches that exist in Istanbul today are located here. And this is not accidental, because almost the entire Russian-speaking population of the city was concentrated in Karakoy. From the seaport and the Galata Bridge to the Church of St. Panteleimon is about five minutes away. Here it’s easy to get stuck in the labyrinth of small, cramped alleys, among shops, pubs and hairdressers.
Entrance to the building on the sixth floor of which the Church of St. Panteleimon is located
We found our way to the temple, but only because we knew the address: just because you see a sign with the number of the house you are looking for, this does not mean that you are in front of the church gates. The Church of St. Panteleimon is located on the sixth and last floor of an ordinary old residential and very shabby building. Children look out of the windows and want us to photograph them. And in the lobby of the building sits a sullen Turk who categorically forbade filming.
If you don’t know the details, then it’s impossible to guess that the most famous Russian temple in Istanbul is located here. Formally, the building in which the church is located belongs to Russia; it was built for the Church back in the time of Catherine II. However, life here has been revived only in recent decades.
“With us, and I lived here for several years, until 2006, the church was being renovated. All this took a lot of effort. Then Father Cornelius served here, and he told us that he started with complete ruin. All the premises were torn apart and destroyed,” “little has been preserved from the temple,” Nina Shchetinina, who rented a room in the temple house, tells us.
Now everything here looks more or less decent. The church itself is on the top floor, its light green dome is visible from afar, but it is impossible to see it from the densely built-up street.
Father Timofey, rector of the Church of St. Panteleimon
We found the rector of the church, Father Timofey, immediately after the service. This man, who has been serving in the temple for more than ten years, is known and loved by almost the entire Russian community of Istanbul. He tries to remember our mutual friends who attended church many years ago.
“150-200 people come to the service, and on holidays many hundreds gather,” a church parishioner from Ukraine tells us. It’s hard to believe, because the entire interior of the church is like a large hall in an apartment. No more than 20-30 people can be here at a time. But it is around the Church of St. Panteleimon that the entire life of the Russian community in Istanbul is focused. Our interlocutor is from Ukraine, but people also come here from Russia, Moldova, and Belarus. “There are a lot of people who live permanently in Istanbul. For example, I’m married here,” she says.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Istanbul again, like 70 years before, became a very popular route among citizens from many countries of the former USSR. But only they had a big difference from their ancestors who visited the city at the beginning of the last century: they came to Istanbul and returned back. The shuttle business flourished for a decade and a half. Thanks to this, in Istanbul you can always find a person who can speak at least a few words in Russian. But here in Karakoy, there was a time when there were more Russian speakers than Turkic speakers in the noisy crowd. Restaurants and shops were opened for them; they were valued guests. With this huge trade flow, those who later had to stay here for a long time or even forever came to Istanbul. It was in the late 90s that the Church of St. Panteleimon began to fill with parishioners.
And this is understandable - the Chora monastery was once located completely outside the walls of Theodosius, and now it is the Edirnekapi area, located some distance from the Hippodrome area, where Sofia, Sultan Ahmet, columns, the Basilica Cistern and other tourist magnets are located. We went to Chora (Kariye Mosque, under the Ottomans), without any excursions, on a city bus.
Theodore Metochites presents Christ with a model of the temple
The Chora Monastery was founded a long time ago, even under Justinian, and, naturally, there was a temple in it, but it was still a completely different temple. At the beginning of the 11th century, under Alexei Komnenos, his mother-in-law Maria Duca ordered the construction of a new Cathedral of Christ the Savior instead of the old, dilapidated one. True, it was soon destroyed by an earthquake. The church was destroyed and rebuilt several more times.
In close proximity to the monastery there was the Vlaherna quarter. Here was the famous temple of Our Lady of Blachernae, where, according to legend, the Mother of God appeared to those praying. In honor of this event, Orthodoxy celebrates the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God. In the 11th century, when Byzantium weakened after numerous wars (especially with Persia), there were many who wanted to profit from the treasures of the disintegrating empire.
Temple Plan
Constantinople was constantly under threat of invasion, and the emperors moved their palace from the city center to Blachernae, to a safer location. A new palace was built here. The most important relics were kept in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Chora, which were brought here for safety from all the churches in the city. In the first two decades of the 14th century, the imperial advisor Theodore Metochites allocated a large sum of money to repair the church. Then it acquired its current appearance, which has survived to this day practically unchanged. The official, poet and astronomer Metochites ordered the builders to cover the walls of the temple with wonderful mosaics. On one of them we can see him himself - kneeling, in a huge turban, in luxurious vestments.
Brown in an old photograph. Another mosque.
An amazing fact: at the very end of its existence, impoverished Byzantium was gripped by a real construction boom. Beautiful, luxurious temples were erected on the territory of the empire in huge numbers, although its area by that time had decreased significantly. In general, judging by many images, Byzantium, impoverished and plundered by the crusaders, ... was drowning in luxury. The clothes and headdresses of emperors and nobles were dazzling with gold, patterns, precious stones and tinsel glitter. So, for example, during the visit of Emperor John the Eighth Palaeologus (uncle) to Rome and Ferrara, his elaborate gilded outfit made such a strong impression on the Italians that eyewitness Benozio Gonzoli depicted him in the famous fresco in the Chapel of the Magi of the Medici Palace - in these magnificent outfits and strange crown hat.
Churches and secular buildings also looked unusual, elegant, and sometimes even pretentious. The style of these buildings is still called “Byzantine” and is often used in the construction of modern churches.
The mosaics that came to Byzantium from antiquity fully met the taste of the “late” Byzantines, who gravitated toward splendor and luxury. Flat picturesque images were not enough; I wanted radiance and a riot of colors.
What was primary, what was secondary - luxury became a sign of decline or its cause, it is now difficult to say. Probably the truth is somewhere in the middle, as usual.
Constantinople in a late 15th century depiction
It didn’t take long for the new temple to attract believers and delight the eye with frescoes and mosaics. In May 1453, Constantinople fell. The Turks destroyed the walls around Blachernae and made breaches in other sections of the ancient walls. Most of the temples became mosques, and Chora was no exception. The mosaics were thickly plastered. This is what saved them from the ravages of time and vandals. Already in our time, a museum was built in Karia, the plaster was cleaned, and now everyone can admire the ancient images.
The lady in black is not a nun, but an orthodox Muslim
I walked around the church for a long time, with pleasure. I looked at it, took pictures, sat on a bench and thought - Brown is the best place for this. I think the magical images themselves will tell you more than the humble author. Walk, enjoy, admire!
The architecture of the Temple of Chora is a typical example of late Byzantine architecture
Roses, roses - like everywhere else in Istanbul
A complex combination of volumes and multi-colored masonry is the hallmark of Byzantine churches
Do not try to pick out a piece of ancient bonding mortar - it is stronger than natural stone
One of the great advantages of the Kariye Museum is the small number of tourists
It's nice to wander through the gloomy, cool halls on a hot day. Photography is allowed, but without flash.
In some places, openwork stone carvings have been preserved. Like, for example, above the entrance to one of the naves.
And more carving
The mosque is no longer here, but the minbar remains. A little off-axis, just like in Sofia
An island of authentic flooring exposed for tourists to see
Our Lady Hodegetria with archangels in one of the domes
Another Our Lady
And another one
St. Peter
MOSAICS ABOUT THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN:
Annunciation of St. Anne
Childless mourning Joachim in the desert
Meeting and kissing of Anna and Joachim at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem
Joachim and Anna caress little Maria
Part of the ceiling mosaic "The Presentation of the Virgin Mary into the Temple"
Blessing of Mary by the High Priests
Joseph leaves Mary to go to work
Herod gives the order to begin the massacre of infants
And here is the beating. Almost an entire wall is dedicated to picturesque horrors.
Saint Elizabeth and baby John the Baptist take refuge in a rock from pursuit
Joseph's Dream and the Flight of the Holy Family into Egypt
ANOTHER LARGE GROUP OF MOSAICS - ABOUT THE LIFE AND ACTS OF CHRIST:
Samaritan woman at the well
Healing of Peter's mother-in-law
Healing the deaf and dumb
Prayer of the Suffering
A woman suffering from bleeding prays to Christ for help.
Christ Pantocrator and the Virgin Mary
Painting "Descent into Hell"
These headless figures attracted my attention with their luxurious robes:
Here you go. The tour is over. And whoever watched and read, well done. Thanks to all!