Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian Iron Church St Stephen – symbol of the Bulgarian identity in Istanbul

БНР Новини

The Bulgarian St Stephen Church in Istanbul (also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church), associated with the fight for church independence that started back in the 1930’s and the 1940’s, is the world’s only iron Orthodox Church. It is 20 meters tall, including the bell tower. The Bulgarian Orthodox temple was built over 500 square meters. It is a three-nave cross-shaped basilica. It was made of pre-fabricated cast iron elements. The altar faces the Golden Horn and a 40 meter high beautiful belfry.

The Bulgarian Iron Church was built at the end of the 19th century when the Bulgarian community in Istanbul (then Tsarigrad) amounted to 50,000 people. In 1849 statesman Stefan Bogoridi donated a plot of land with several buildings-a wooden and two stone houses situated in Fener district in Istanbul. The wooden house was later reorganized as wooden church.

Снимка

On October 17, 1849, an Ottoman royal decree allowing the Bulgarians to have their own religious temple was issued. Then, the ground floor of the wooden house donated by Stefan Bogoridi was turned into a temporary chapel. Later, it became a separate church named after First Martyr and Archdeacon St Stephen in honor of benefactor Stefan Bogoridi. The temple was known at that time as the Wooden Church.

In 1850 the stone buildings in the church yard were demolished and later a three-story building, known as the Convent, was built instead. It became headquarters of the Bulgarian Exarchate, established on February 27, 1870. The Bulgarian Exarchate functioned in Istanbul even after Bulgaria’s liberation- until the Balkan War in 1912.

СнимкаOn June 25, 1890 an Ottoman royal decree allowed the Bulgarian Exarchate to build a new church on these premises. The new church was inaugurated by Exarch Joseph. An iron frame was preferred to concrete reinforcement due to weak ground conditions. The construction plans of the Iron Church were prepared by the Ottoman Armenian Architect Hovsep Aznavur. The pre-fabricated iron elements weighing 500 tons were made in Vienna and transported to Istanbul (Tsaribrod) by ship through the Danube and the Black Sea. The main skeleton of the Iron Church was made of steel and covered by metal boards. It was completed on July 14, 1896. In terms of architecture, the Iron Church combines Neo-Gothic and Neo-Baroque influences. The icons were painted by a Russian artist and the six church bells were also cast in Russia. Two of them are still in use.

The official inauguration of the new St Stephen Church was made by Exarch Joseph on the Nativity of Mary feast on September 8, 1898. Today, the St Staphen church is one of the world’s few metal churches.

Bulgarian church figures such as Ilarion of Makariopol, Avksentiy Veleshki, Maletiy Veleshki and Paisii of Plovdiv were buried in the church yard.

The St Stephen Church which marks its 120 anniversary in 2018 is regarded the most-valuable monument of the Bulgarian historical and cultural heritage in Turkey and abroad. The official inauguration and resanctification of the fully-renovated church will be held today and the church service will be carried out by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte.


English version: Kostadin Atanasov
Photos: BTA, BGNES and the St Stephen Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Tsarigrad Foundation


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Muslims welcome Ramadan Bayram 

According to the 2021 census, almost 11% of the Bulgarian population, or about 639 000 people, identify themselves as Muslims, with the Turkish population alone accounting for 508 378 people. Most of the Muslim population lives in north-eastern Bulgaria..

published on 4/10/24 6:30 AM
The town of Hisarya

The ancient town of Hisarya hosts the first festival of antiquity Diocletianopolis

From April 5 to 7, the town of Hisarya in the Plovdiv region will host the first festival of antiquity "Diocletianopolis - Crossroads of Time", the municipality announced. The aim of the festival is to show what life was like in ancient Diocletianopolis..

published on 4/5/24 8:20 AM
Metropolitan Hilarion of Makariopolis (1812-1875).

164 years ago in Constantinople the Bulgarian Church proclaimed  its independence

On 3 April 1860, during the solemn Easter service in the Bulgarian St Stephen's Church in Istanbul, Metropolitan Hilarion of Makariopolis intentionally did not mention the name of the Ecumenical Greek Patriarch . Instead of the name of Patriarch Cyril..

published on 4/3/24 11:19 AM