Armenian Apostolic Church church in
Vakifli, Turkey The
Armenian Apostolic Church traces its origins to
St. Gregory the Illuminator who is credited with having introduced the Armenian king
Tiridates III to Christianity. It is one of the most ancient churches established in the
Caucasus and
Eastern Anatolia.
Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate of the
Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate ) Orthodox Church of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate in
Galata, Istanbul The
Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate (), also referred to as the Turkish Orthodox Church, is an unrecognized
Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination based in Turkey. It was founded in
Kayseri by
Pavlos Karahisarithis, a supporter of the
General Congregation of the Anatolian Turkish Orthodox (), in 1922. The start of the Patriarchate can be traced to the
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). In 1922 a pro-Turkish
Eastern Orthodox group, the General Congregation of the Anatolian Turkish Orthodox, was set up with the support from the Orthodox bishop of
Havza, as well as a number of other congregations representing a genuine movement among the Turkish-speaking, Orthodox Christian population of
Anatolia who wished to remain both Orthodox and Turkish. There were calls to establish a new
Patriarchate with Turkish as the preferred language of
Christian worship. In 1924, Karahisarithis started to conduct the
Christian liturgy in
Turkish, and quickly won support from the
establishment of the modern Republic of Turkey, formed after the
defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922). He claimed that the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was ethnically centered and favored the Greek population. Being
excommunicated by the
Greek Orthodox Church for claiming to be a bishop while still having a wife and due to the fact that married bishops are not allowed in
Eastern Orthodoxy, Karahisarithis, who later changed his name into Zeki Erenerol, called a Turkish ecclesiastical congress, which elected him Patriarch in 1924.
Greek Orthodox Church , also known as the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos (Greek: Θεοτόκος ἡ Παμμακάριστος, "All-Blessed Mother of God"), is one of the most famous Greek Orthodox Byzantine churches in
Istanbul medieval Byzantine Greek Orthodox church preserved as the Chora Museum in the Edirnekapı neighborhood of
Istanbul ("
Red Church") near
Güzelyurt,
Aksaray.
Constantinople was dedicated as the capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD and served as the capital of the
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire from the empire's definitive division in 395 until 1453. The city's see was elevated in the
ecclesiastical hierarchy by the
First Council of Constantinople in 381, which decreed in its third canon that the Bishop of Constantinople should have the "prerogative of honor" after the Bishop of Rome because the city was the "New Rome." The traditional apostolic origin of the Patriarchate is traced to
St. Andrew, a claim that gained prominence in later centuries. The first historically attested bishops who oversaw the see's rise to prominence were
Metrophanes and
Alexander of Constantinople, who held the office before and during the city's imperial refoundation. At the
Council of Chalcedon in 451, Constantinople's status was expanded. Canon 28 granted it jurisdiction over several metropolitan sees and "equal privileges" to Old Rome, a canon the papacy did not accept. Following the council's condemnation of
Monophysitism, the popes in Rome and the patriarchs of Constantinople were often aligned in the ensuing theological disputes with the Patriarchate of Alexandria, a major center of Monophysite belief. The doctrine of the
Pentarchy, which conceived of the universal church as governed by the five patriarchs of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, was first given legal expression in the 6th-century legislation of Emperor
Justinian I. This concept, which formalized the existing administrative structure of the church, was later used as an ecclesiological model in opposition to Roman claims of universal jurisdiction. During the 8th and 9th centuries, the Byzantine Empire experienced the
Iconoclastic Controversy, a prolonged theological conflict over the veneration of religious images. The 9th century also saw the
Photian schism, a conflict that began with a dispute over the patriarchal see between
Ignatios and
Photios I but expanded to include major canonical and theological issues, including papal jurisdictional claims in the Balkans and the Western addition of the
Filioque clause to the
Nicene Creed. The primary Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite is the
Divine Liturgy. The rite also includes a cycle of daily non-Eucharistic services known as the
Daily Office or Horologion, analogous to the
Divine Office in the Latin Rite. The Byzantine Rite is used for the administration of the
Holy Mysteries (sacraments), which include
Baptism,
Chrismation,
Holy Communion (the Eucharist, understood as the most direct union with Christ),
confession,
unction,
matrimony, and
ordination. Other rites, such as
blessings and
exorcisms, are also performed. The two primary Eucharistic liturgies are the
Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, so named because their central
anaphoras are attributed to these saints. • Latin rite: •
Vicariate Apostolic of Istanbul, with seat in the
Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Istanbul. Basilica:
St. Anthony of Padua Church in Istanbul,
Istanbul. Jurisdiction: Immediately subjected to the
Holy See •
Vicariate Apostolic of Anatolia, with seat in the
Cathedral of the Annunciation, İskenderun, and
Co-Cathedral of St. Anthony of Padua, Mersin. Jurisdiction: Immediately subjected to the
Holy See •
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of İzmir, with seat in the
St. John's Cathedral, İzmir. • Armenian rite:
Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Istanbul. Cathedral:
Holy Mother of God Armenian Cathedral Church, Istanbul. Jurisdiction: Immediately subjected to the
Holy See. • Byzantine Rite:
Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul. Cathedral:
Holy Trinity Greek Catholic Cathedral, Istanbul (Ayatriada Rum Katoliki Kilise). Jurisdiction: Immediately subjected to the
Holy See. • Syriac Rite:
Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Turkey, with seat in Istanbul. Jurisdiction: Subject to the
Syriac Catholic Church. • Chaldaean Rite:
Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Diarbekir. Cathedral:
St. Mary's Cathedral, Diyarbakır, but with seat in
Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Jurisdiction:
Chaldean Catholic Church.
Syriac Orthodox Church , Patriarchal Vicarate of Mardin near Mardin, Turkey. After the Romans withdrew from the fortress, Mor Shlemon transformed it into a monastery in 493 AD. The
Syriac Orthodox Church, that follows the
West Syriac Rite, was present in various southeastern regions of modern Turkey since the
early medieval times. Since the 12th century, the patriarchal seat itself was transferred to
Mor Hananyo Monastery (Deir al-Za`faran), in southeastern
Anatolia near
Mardin (modern Turkey), where it remained until 1924. In modern times, active churches are located in
Istanbul,
Diyarbakır,
Adıyaman, and
Elazığ. There are many both active and inactive churches in the traditionally Assyrian area of
Tur Abdin, which is a region centered in the western area of
Mardin Province, and has areas that go into
Şırnak, and
Batman Province. Up until the 1980s the Syriac population was concentrated there as well, but a large amount of the population has fled the region to Istanbul or abroad due to the
Kurdish-Turkish conflict. The Church structure is still organized however, with 12 reverends stationed in churches and monasteries there. Churches were also in several other provinces as well, but during the
Seyfo the churches in those churches were destroyed or left ruined. In modern times, Syriac Orthodox Church hase these provinces in Turkey: • Patriarchal Vicariate of
Istanbul and
Ankara under the spiritual guidance and direction of Archbishop
Filüksinos Yusuf Çetin. • Patriarchal Vicariate of
Mardin under the spiritual guidance and direction of Archbishop Filüksinos Saliba Özmen. • Patriarchal Vicariate of
Turabdin under the spiritual guidance and direction of Archbishop Timotheus Samuel Aktaş. • Archbishopric of
Adıyaman under the spiritual guidance and direction of Archbishop Gregorius Melki Ürek.
Church of the East Historical
Church of the East, that followed the
East Syriac Rite, was present in various southeastern regions of modern Turkey throughout
medieval and
early modern times, and the continuation of that presence is embodied in the modern
Assyrian Church of the East, and the
Ancient Church of the East. Ecclesiastical structure of East Syriac Christianity in the region was almost completely wiped out in the
Assyrian genocide. Originally, one of its main centers was in the region of
Hakkari, in the village of
Qodchanis, that was the seat of Shimun-line patriarchs from the 17th century up to the advent of modern times. Patriarch Mar
Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East visited Turkey in 2012.
Protestant churches Armenian Protestants own 3 churches in Istanbul since the 19th century. There is an Alliance of Protestant Churches in Turkey. There are Protestant churches for foreigners in compounds and resorts, although they are not counted in lists of churches as they are used only by tourists and expatriates.
Church of England in Turkey is under the jurisdiction of the
Church of England Anglicans in Turkey form part of the Eastern Archdeaconry of the
Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe. In 2008 the Anglican bishop of Europe,
Geoffrey Rowell, caused controversy by ordaining a local man to minister to Turkish-speaking Anglicans in Istanbul.
Evangelical churches The
Armenian Evangelical Church was founded in 1846, after Patriarch Matteos Chouhajian excommunicated members of the "Pietisical Union" who had started to raise questions about a possible conflicts between the
Biblical scriptures and
Sacred traditions. There were reportedly 15 Turkish converts in Constantinople in 1864. One church minister said "We wanted the Turks first to become Armenian". Hagop A. Chakmakjian commented that "the implication was that to be Christian meant to be identified with the Armenian people".
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Recognizing that present-day
Ephesus of the
New Testament endowed Turkey with historical importance, early leaders of the
LDS Church preached in
Ottoman Turkey in 1850, and—with the help of British LDS soldiers—organized a congregation in
Istanbul in 1854. In 1979, another
local community of LDS adherents was organized in
Ankara. == List of church buildings in Turkey ==