Church of St. George of Samatya

Coordinates: 41°00′07″N 28°55′59″E / 41.00188°N 28.93302°E / 41.00188; 28.93302
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Church of St. George of Samatya
Սամաթիոյ Սուրբ Գէորգ Եկեղեցի
Surp Kevork
St. George
Architecture
Architect(s)Bedros Nemtze
Groundbreaking1866
Completed1887

Saint George of Samatya or Surp Kevork (Armenian: Սամաթիոյ Սուրբ Գէորգ Եկեղեցի; 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 (

Armenian community in Istanbul, and became for a period the seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.[2]

Location

The church is located in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih, in the neighbourhood of Kocamustafapaşa (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

Byzantine period

Map of Constantinople around 1420, after Cristoforo Buondelmonti. The Church of Peribleptos is the domed building on the lower left part of the map. The creek shown in the picture originates from the holy source.

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

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

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

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

Immediately after the

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

Spanish ambassador

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

Saint John the Forerunner
.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Janin (1953), p. 227.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Müller-Wiener (1977) pg. 200
  3. ^ a b c d e Ronchey (2010), p. 443
  4. ^ Müller-Wiener (1977) pg. 187
  5. ^ Mamboury (1953), p. 306.
  6. ^ a b c Janin (1953), p. 228.
  7. ^ a b c Eyice (1955), p.93.
  8. ^ a b c Janin (1953), p. 229.
  9. ^ a b c Ronchey (2010), p. 444
  10. ^ a b Janin (1953), p. 230.

Sources

  • Mamboury, Ernest (1953). The Tourists' Istanbul. Istanbul: Çituri Biraderler Basimevi.
  • Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines.
  • Eyice, Semavi (1955). Istanbul. Petite Guide a travers les Monuments Byzantins et Turcs (in French). Istanbul: Istanbul Matbaası.
  • 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

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