Republic’s first church preparing for its opening

ISTANBUL

Final preparations are almost complete for the opening of Mor Efrem (St. Ephrem) Syriac Ancient Orthodox Church in Istanbul, the first church built in the history of modern Türkiye.

While the church in the Bakırköy district is planned to be opened in two months, comprehensible work is being carried out to eliminate the last deficiencies.

Following the allocation of a place at the request of the Syriac community in the country, the foundation of the church was laid in 2019 with a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The church was designed as a five-story building in the empty 700 square meter section of the area where the Latin Catholic Cemetery is located in the Yeşilköy neighborhood.

One floor of the church will be used as a cultural hall, where the congregation will gather after the masses, ceremonies such as baptisms, condolences and weddings, as well as meetings and conferences will be held.

While the chandeliers and sound systems in the culture hall are being installed, it is planned to hang the chandeliers on the floor where the rituals will be held in the coming days.

On the ground floor of the church, there is a living area, guest rooms and parking.

The church will be the second church belonging to about 17,000 Assyrians living in the city.

Sait Susin, the head of the Istanbul Assyrian Ancient Foundation, said that the church built in the Beyoğlu district in 1844 did not meet the needs of Assyrians residing in Istanbul, so they tried to worship in six
churches belonging to other communities.

Pointing out that the churches of other communities are not very compatible with Syriac rituals, Susin said they needed a new church.

Emphasizing that the church was built based on historical church example, Susin said, “We tried to make a church in accordance with today’s conditions by also taking into account the characteristics of the churches in the southeastern province of Mardin, where a considerable number of Assyrians live.”