Churches

* Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople: Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, currently Bartholomew I. Because of its historical location at the capital of the former Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and its role as the Mother Church of most modern Orthodox churches, the Ecumenical Patriarchate holds a special place of honor within Orthodoxy. The Ecumenical Patriarch enjoys the status of “Primus inter pares” (first among equals) among the world’s Eastern Orthodox prelates. Unlike the Catholic Pope, he does not exercise control over the individual autocephalous churches, which are fully autonomous. He is, however, widely regarded as the representative and spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians.

            * Saint Mary of the Mongols Church: Bloody Church, is an Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul. It is the only Byzantinechurch of Constantinople that has never been converted to a mosque, always remaining open to the Greek Orthodox Church.

            * Hagia Irene: Holy Peace, sometimes known also as Saint Irene, is a former Eastern Orthodox church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace in İstanbul, Turkey. It is open as a museum every day except Tuesday.

            * Hagia Triada: Hagia Triada is a Greek Orthodox church in Istanbul, Turkey. The building was erected in 1880 and is considered the largest Greek Orthodox shrine in Istanbul today. It is still in use by the Greek community of Istanbul. It has about 150 parishioners.

            * St. Anthony of Padua Church: Along with the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (1846) in the Harbiye district, St. Louis of the French (1581) and Santa Maria Draperis in Beyoğlu, Sts. Peter and Paul (1841) in Galata, Assumption Church in the Moda quarter of Kadıköy, St. Stephen in Yeşilköy and Bakırköy Church in Bakırköy, St. Anthony of Padua is one of the most important Catholic churches in Istanbul, and among them has the largest community following its Masses. St. Anthony of Padua was built between 1906 and 1912 in the Venetian Neo-Gothic style, and was likewise edificed by the local Italian community of the city, mostly of Genoeseand Venetian descent, who amounted to 40,000 people at the turn of the 20th century. The building was designed by the Istanbulite Levantine architect Giulio Mongeri, who also designed many other important buildings in Istanbul and Ankara

            * Crimea Memorial Church: The current church was built on land donated by Sultan Abdulmecit and was constructed between 1858-68 in memory of British soldiers who had participated in the Crimean War.The idea of building a memorial church in Istanbul was first raised in 1856. Designs were submitted by the architect William Burges and he was declared the winner. However, in-fighting on the approval committee, coupled with concerns regarding the supposed “un-English” style of Burges’ design, led to his being removed as architect in 1863 and his replacement by G.E. Street. The church was completed by the end of the 19th century and closed in 1978 due to the lack of a congregation. It re-opened in 1991.

Pera & Galata Area: Galata Tower was built by a Genoese colony in 1348 as a part of their fortifications. The surrounding quarter nurtured a whole diversity of European ethnic minorities which flourished there in the nineteenth century, among them Armenians, Venetians, Jews and Greeks… it was from this ever expanding mixed foreign quarter that Pera blossomed. Pera, meaning ‘opposite shore’ generally referred to the shore opposite the harbor of the Golden Horn, that of Galata in Byzantine times. During Ottoman times, it came to refer to the section of Taksim between the Square and Tunel with all its residing foreigners. The fortified enclave of lower Galata’s Jewish, Italian and French were to become the later inhabitants of Pera. Today, the 1.2 km pedestrianized Istiklal Street street leading from the Square down to Tunel is packed with an arbitrary scattering of music and bookstores, movie theaters and cultural centers, cafes, restaurants and bars, commercial banks and offices, shopping outlets and bazaars, consulates and embassies, churches, historical arcades and passageways.