Church in Istanbul, Turkey
Saint George of Samatya
or
Surp Kevork
(
Armenian
:
???????? ????? ????? ???????
;
Turkish
name:
Sulu Manastır
, meaning: "Water Monastery") is an
Armenian
church in
Istanbul
,
Turkey
.
The edifice, built between 1866 and 1887, has been erected above the substructure of a Byzantine church and monastery built in the eleventh century. The complex, dedicated to
St. Mary Peribleptos
(
Greek
:
Μον? τ?? Θεοτoκου τ?? Περιβλ?πτου
,
Moni tis Theotokou tis Perivleptou
) was one of the most important
Greek Orthodox
monasteries in
Constantinople
.
[1]
After the
Ottoman
conquest of the city
in 1453 it was ceded to the
Armenian
community in Istanbul, and became for a period the seat of the
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
.
[2]
Location
[
edit
]
The church is located in
Istanbul
, in the district of
Fatih
, in the neighbourhood of Kocamustafapa?a (historically
Samatya
), at
Marmara Caddesi 79
.
[3]
It lies inside the
walled
city, at a short distance from the shore of the
Sea of Marmara
. The building is protected by a high wall, and surrounded by other edifices.
History
[
edit
]
Byzantine period
[
edit
]
In the fifth century on this place stood the church of
Hagios Stephanos en tais Aurelianai
. This church was located near the
Helenianai Palace
and the monastery of
St. Dalmatios
,
[2]
close to an abundant
water source
(
Greek
:
Hagiasma
). From this source, still existing, originates the Turkish name of the complex ("Water Monastery").
[3]
Not far from these buildings and from the
sea walls
, on a small plateau on the southern slope of the seventh hill of
Constantinople
, in the
Xerolophos
quartier,
[4]
Byzantine Emperor
Romanos III Argyros
(r. 1028?1034) founded a large monastery dedicated to the
Theotokos Peribleptos
after his unlucky expedition to Syria.
[1]
The appellation, meaning "conspicuous", "easy to see", originates from its dominating and isolated position.
[3]
The Emperor spent a great deal of money to erect the building, and was harshly criticized for that.
[1]
Romanos was buried here in 1034. Emperor
Nikephoros III Botaneiates
(r. 1078?1081) repaired the complex in 1080.
[2]
After his deposition, Nikephoros was obliged by his successor,
Alexios I Komnenos
(r. 1081?1118) to become a monk here, and was buried in the church as well.
[1]
In the 11th-12th centuries, it was usual for the court to come to the Peribleptos each year to celebrate the
candlemas
.
[5]
After the
Latin sack of 1204
, the church remained for a short time under Greek control, but was later given to
Venetian
Benedictine
monks.
[2]
After the end of the
Latin Empire
,
Michael VIII Palaiologos
(r. 1261?1282) restored the church and added in the refectory a
mosaic
representing himself with his wife
Theodora
and their son Constantine.
[2]
This mosaic was destroyed in the great fire of Samatya in 1782.
[1]
At the end of the thirteenth century a young monk of the monastery, Hylarion, sent to
Elegmoi
in
Bithynia
to look after the possessions of the monastery, found the region ravaged by the
Turks
. He successfully organised the population against the raiders and after confronting them made the area safe again, but that caused a great scandal in Constantinople, since monks were not allowed to fight. After he was forced to go back to the capital, the Turkish pillaging started again, until the inhabitants of Elegmoi sent a petition to Constantinople asking for his return. At the end the
Hegumen
of the monastery was forced to give his consent.
[1]
The building was damaged in 1402 by fire and lighting. In 1422, Emperor
Manuel II Palaiologos
(r. 1391?1425) lived in this monastery during an epidemic and the
siege
of the city by the
Ottoman
Sultan
Murad II
.
[6]
Ottoman period
[
edit
]
Immediately after the
Conquest of Constantinople
in 1453, the church continued to belong to the Greek Orthodox Church.
[6]
According to
Muller-Wiener
, between 1461 and 1480 (the resettling of Armenians in Samatya occurred in 1458/862
AH
), Sultan
Mehmed II
(r. 1444?46, 1451?81) ceded the church to the Armenian community,
[2]
and until 1643/44 the complex was the seat of the
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
.
[2]
Other sources report that the building was given to the Armenians in 1643 because of the intercession of an Armenian woman, named
?ivekar
, who was a favourite of Sultan
Ibrahim I
(r. 1640?1648).
[6]
[7]
During this period several churches were built here.
[2]
By the middle of the seventeenth century the only
Byzantine
building still visible was the refectory.
[3]
In 1722 the complex was renovated by the Armenian architect
Meldon
, but in 1782 everything was destroyed by the great fire of Samatya. The reconstruction took place in 1804.
[2]
Between 1866 and 1887 (after another fire in 1877
[7]
), the church was rebuilt as endowment of
Michael Hagopian
, and only the foundations of the Byzantine church and remains of the source building were kept in place. Moreover, two large schools were built near the church.
[2]
Description
[
edit
]
Spanish ambassador
Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo
(practically the only extant source about the complex in the Byzantine period
[8]
), who visited Constantinople in 1402, writes that the plan of St. Mary was a central one, with a square nave surmounted by a dome with an
atrium
and side rooms, similar to the contemporary churches of
Hosios Loukas
and
Daphni Monastery
in Greece.
[7]
The hemispherical dome ? decorated with a mosaic ? rested upon eight columns of
polychrome Jasper
[8]
which sustained four
squinches
.
[9]
These made a transition from the octagonal base to the square defined by the walls.
[9]
Recent excavations confirmed the description of Clavijo.
[9]
The church, whose walls and floor were also covered with jasper slabs, contained several imperial tombs, placed in two side rooms. Its outer walls were richly decorated with paintings representing towns and castles which were endowed to the monastery.
[8]
A large refectory adorned with a
fresco
depicting the
Last Supper
, rooms for the monks, gardens and vineyards were part of the complex.
[10]
In the church were also exhibited several
relics
, among them the body of
Saint Gregory
.
[10]
The present church is a rectangular building, whose sides are about twenty and thirty meters long. It is oriented in SW ? NE direction. The church has an apse on the NE side and a
Bell-gable
. The interior is covered with a
barrel Vault
and is lavishly decorated. Over the Ayazma, considered to be one of the most beautiful in Istanbul,
[3]
is built a chapel dedicated to
Saint John the Forerunner
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Janin (1953), p. 227.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Muller-Wiener (1977) pg. 200
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Ronchey (2010), p. 443
- ^
Muller-Wiener (1977) pg. 187
- ^
Mamboury (1953), p. 306.
- ^
a
b
c
Janin (1953), p. 228.
- ^
a
b
c
Eyice (1955), p.93.
- ^
a
b
c
Janin (1953), p. 229.
- ^
a
b
c
Ronchey (2010), p. 444
- ^
a
b
Janin (1953), p. 230.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Mamboury, Ernest
(1953).
The Tourists' Istanbul
. Istanbul: Cituri Biraderler Basimevi.
- Janin, Raymond
(1953).
La Geographie ecclesiastique de l'Empire byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siege de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecumenique. 3rd Vol. : Les Eglises et les Monasteres
(in French). Paris: Institut Francais d'Etudes Byzantines.
- Eyice, Semavi
(1955).
Istanbul. Petite Guide a travers les Monuments Byzantins et Turcs
(in French). Istanbul: Istanbul Matbaası.
- Muller-Wiener, Wolfgang
(1977).
Bildlexikon Zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul Bis Zum Beginn D. 17 Jh
(in German). Tubingen: Wasmuth.
ISBN
978-3-8030-1022-3
.
- Ronchey, Silvia; Braccini, Tommaso (2010).
Il romanzo di Costantinopoli. Guida letteraria alla Roma d'Oriente
(in Italian). Torino: Einaudi.
ISBN
978-88-06-18921-1
.
External links
[
edit
]
Ancient, medieval, and historical Armenian churches and monasteries
|
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Armenia
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,
Kamoyants
,
Karapet
,
Karapi
,
Karmir Avetaran
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Geghardavank
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,
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,
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,
Zrkinyants
)
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)
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Cathedral
,
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)
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St. Marine
,
Holy Sign
)
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St. Mary
,
St. Sarkis
,
Mariam
)
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(
Vank
,
St. Mary
,
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