ETH.KO. Voluntaries for Constantinople
The church behind the stone garden wall, with a temporary roof and site fencing
Image credit: Özgür Arda BAYRAM, Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Fatih – Fener

Holy Virgin Mary Church at Vlahsaray

Fener Vlahsaray Panayia Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi Vakfı

A Rum community foundation (vakıf) in Vlahsaray.

Official name
Fener Vlahsaray Panayia Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi Vakfı
District
Vlahsaray
Type
Church
Status
Unknown
Location
Map (OpenStreetMap)

The church is dedicated to the Virgin Paramythia and is widely known as Vlach Saray, after the palaces of the princes of Wallachia that once stood around it. From 1587, for a short period at the end of the 16th century, it served as the patriarchal church of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It burned in 1640 and again in 1729, was rebuilt in 1730 and rebuilt again in the mid-19th century. After a fire in the 1970s the church was left in ruins; on 23 May 2022 the first Divine Liturgy since the fire was celebrated in its ruins. In December 2022 Özyeğin University launched a restoration project for the church, supported by the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.

The information on this page is documented by the sources listed at the end.

Sources

  1. Rum Vakıfları Derneği — Vakıflarımız
  2. Σύνδεσμος Υποστήριξης Ρωμαίικων Κοινοτικών Ιδρυμάτων — Τα βακούφια μας
  3. İstanbul ve Çanakkale illerinde faaliyette bulunan Rum Ortodoks ibadethaneleri — Κατάλογος των ιερών λατρευτικών χώρων Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Ίμβρου και Τενέδου
  4. ΚΟΙΝΟΤΗΤΑ ΠΑΝΑΓΙΑΣ ΠΑΡΑΜΥΘΙΑΣ ΒΛΑΧΣΑΡΑΪ — rumvader.org
  5. Fener Vlahsaray Panayia Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi Vakfı — rumvader.org
  6. rumvader.org – Κοινότητα Παναγίας Παραμυθίας Βλαχσαραΐ — dedication, name Vlach Saray and its origin, fires of 1640 and 1729, rebuildings of 1730 and mid-19th century
  7. Orthodoxia News Agency – Πρώτη Θεία Λειτουργία μετά από 52 χρόνια στην ερειπωμένη Παναγία Παραμυθία — 2022-05-23; patriarchal church from 1587, ruins after fire, Divine Liturgy of 23 May 2022
  8. Paramythia – Özyeğin University, Press page — 2022-12; restoration project and its funding
  9. Panayia Vlahsaray Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi – Vikipedi — dates the last fire to 1978 (see editorNotes)
  10. Wikidata Q112242322 — coordinates

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