Community of Saint Phocas and Saint George, Mesochori (Ortaköy)
Ortaköy Aya Fokas Aya Yorgi Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi Vakfı
A Rum community foundation (vakıf) in Ortaköy.
- Official name
- Ortaköy Aya Fokas Aya Yorgi Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi Vakfı
- District
- Ortaköy
- Type
- Church
- Status
- Active
- Founded
- 1856
- Location
- Map (OpenStreetMap)
The church of St Phocas stands in Mesochori (Ortaköy), on Muallim Naci Caddesi, and is described as the only church in Istanbul dedicated to St Phocas of Sinope. The earlier church burned in a fire in the neighbourhood in 1719 and was rebuilt with the same form and dimensions, but another fire destroyed it again in 1853. The present church was built under a firman of Sultan Abdülmecid I dated 28 August 1856; an inscription above the door of the nave names the sultan and the date of construction. It is a three-aisled stone basilica within a walled courtyard. On 22 September 2025 the Divine Liturgy for the feast of St Phocas was celebrated in the church.
The information on this page is documented by the sources listed at the end.
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Image credit: Darwinek, Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sources
- Rum Vakıfları Derneği — Vakıflarımız
- Σύνδεσμος Υποστήριξης Ρωμαίικων Κοινοτικών Ιδρυμάτων — Τα βακούφια μας
- ΚΟΙΝΟΤΗΤΑ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΦΩΚΑ ΜΕΣΟΧΩΡΙΟΥ — rumvader.org
- Ortaköy Aya Fokas Aya Yorgi Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi Vakfı — rumvader.org
- Chiesa di San Foca a Mesachori – Wikipedia (it) — fires of 1719 and 1853, firman of 1856, inscription, architecture, dedication (cites Janin, Sumner-Boyd & Freely, Şarlak)
- Ayios Fokas Kilisesi – Vikipedi — location on Muallim Naci Caddesi
- Orthodoxia News Agency – Εορτή του Αγίου Φωκά στην κοινότητα Μεσαχωρίου — 2025-09-22; feast-day Divine Liturgy (status)
- Wikidata Q59238241 — coordinates; inception 1856
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