Top Churches of Istanbul

There are many churches in istanbul, which is home to three religious belief. When the different choices of the churches of Istanbul are governed as a cosmopolitan religious tolerance city, it is a reference to the multicultural past. These beautiful churches loyal to the religious minorities that exist today in the city.

Now we will try to introduce you to the most famous churches in Istanbul.

Hagia Sophia

Church of Holy Wisdom (Ayasofya)

Hagia Sophia, Turkish Ayasofya, also called Church of the Holy Wisdom or Church of the Divine Wisdom, cathedral built at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the 6th century CE (532–537) under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. By general consensus, it is the most important Byzantine structure and one of the world’s great monuments.

The Church of St. Savior in Chora

Kariye Museum - Chora Church

Second only to Hagia Sophia in terms of Byzantine importance, this church followed much the same fate – church turned mosque turned museum. It’s original location outside the city walls of Constantine the Great earned it’s name ‘Chora’, meaning ‘outside the walls’ or ‘in the country’. Its beauty lies with the breathtaking Palaeologian mosaics and frescos that date back to around the 14th Century.

Saint Antoine

Originally called Sant'Antonio di Padova (St. Anthony of Padua wiki), and known in Turkish as Saint Antoine Kilisesi or Saint Antuan Kilisesi, the Saint Antoine church on bustling Istiklal Caddesi is the largest Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul. It was built to serve the Italian community living in Istanbul.

St. Stephen Bulgarian Church

The grey exterior fools many a visitor into thinking the church is built of stone. However, this Bulgarian Orthodox church is made entirely of cast iron, one of few that have survived from that era in the world. An iron frame was chosen over concrete due to the soft ground of its location on the Golden Horn shores.

Santa Maria Draperis Catholic Church

The church’s history dates back to 1584 when the Franciscan Friars were given a house with a tiny chapel in Galata by a Levantine woman, Clara Maria Draperis. Fires ravaged the church in the 17th century and the Friars moved to Pera, and finally to the current location where the church was erected once again, burned again in 1767 and was finally rebuilt in 1769.

St. George Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchy Church

The relatively humble exterior hides the importance of this church, which is one of the most important Orthodox religious sites as the worldwide headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. It has held the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople since the 1600s, recognized as the spiritual leader of the world’s Eastern Orthodox Christians. The simple facade fails to prepare one for the opulent, decadent interior of marble and intricately carved adornments.