Tucked behind Karaköy’s eclectic streets sits a little-known chapter of Turkey’s religious history: the Virgin Mary Turkish Orthodox Church (Meryem Ana Türk Ortodoks Kilisesi).
Officially it goes by a heavier name; the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate. Despite its grand title, it remains unrecognized by the wider Orthodox world.
Step inside, and the atmosphere grows even more intriguing. Byzantine inscriptions, Christian paintings, and classic church architecture stand alongside two unexpected, massive emblems: the Turkish flag and a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
The juxtaposition is striking, and it stirs questions. The church itself offers no answer. It only invites you to look closer, to sense the tensions hidden in plain sight, and to wonder about the story waiting beyond its walls.
Inside The Turkish Orthodox Heart
The church sits behind high reddish walls, with its main black door on Ali Paşa Değirmeni Street marked with golden crosses. The other entrance on Akçe Street is closed.
Towering palms and potted shrubs cast shadows across the stone and marble paving. To the left rises the church building; to the right, plaques inscribed in Greek stand as silent witnesses, hinting at lives and dedications long past.
At the end of the courtyard are the offices of the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate and staff residences, above which the bell tower rises quietly and unassumingly.
The interior opens into the L-shaped narthex — a high-ceilinged hallway of antique devotion. Sunlight pours through tall, arched windows, giving the space a soft, reddish-pink hue.
Where the narthex turns, a large, suspended maritime ship model (ex-voto) marks the intersection. This area, with its large copper vessel and ritual cleansing basins, quietly recalls the congregation’s ties to the sea.
The dark wooden iconostasis dominates the eastern wall. Scenes of the Koimesis, Mary with the Child, and the Nativity sit alongside saints, gilded in gold leaf. Traces of restoration hint at fires and rebuilds, quietly pointing to the turbulent past of the building.
From the narthex, two black doors open into the main prayer hall. Inside, the atmosphere changes: the hall glows with deep reds and golds, lit by several large crystal chandeliers. Dark, intricately carved wooden pews face a gilded iconostasis that separates the nave from the altar.
The Political Birth Of A Church
Greeks from Kaffa built the Virgin Mary Church in 1475, initially naming it Panagia Kaphatiane Galata. Fires in 1696 and 1731 burned the structure to the ground, yet each time, it rose again. Its long survival is remarkable – but the real drama begins in the 20th century.
The story opens in post–World War I Istanbul, still under Allied occupation. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, led by Patriarch Meletius IV, was politically active, openly supporting Greek nationalist ambitions.
At the time, roughly 50,000 Turkish-speaking Orthodox Christians were scattered across Anatolia – a population known as the Karamanlides. They were descendants of either Turks who had embraced Christianity under the Byzantine Empire, or Greeks who had adopted Turkish under the Seljuks and Ottomans.
The Patriarchate’s position left this community with a deep sense of alienation. Faith and ethnicity, long intertwined, now appeared to stand in opposition.
Into this tense landscape stepped the man who would ignite the drama: Pavlos Karahisarithis. No ordinary cleric, this priest from Cappadocia would later adopt the Turkish name Zeki Erenerol and claim the title Papa Eftim I.
From the start, he harbored deep hostility toward the Greek Patriarchate. Some accounts suggest his anger was personal; others insist it was political.
On the other hand, Papa Eftim’s ties to the emerging Turkish Republic were immediate. Historical sources even confirm a meeting with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the national resistance. It occurred at the house of Çerkes Ethem, one of the leading paramilitary leaders.
Less than a year later, Papa Eftim represented the Turkish Orthodox Community of All Anatolia at the opening of the Turkish Parliament. It was a bold alignment that hinted at both ambition and deep-state backing.
Next, he openly denounced Meletius IV, claiming that the Patriarchate favored Greek interests over Turkish Orthodox communities. With a small but devoted group, he established the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate in 1922 in Kayseri.
In the spring of 1923, tensions escalated into action. With the backing of Turkish authorities, Papa Eftim and his followers seized the Church of Panagia Kafatiani in Galata.
On June 1, 1923, partisans led by Damianos Damianides stormed the Patriarchate in Fener, injuring Patriarch Meletius IV. The Turkish police stood aside, while the French military police, still on occupation duty, restored order.
Days later, Papa Eftim praised the attackers and demanded the Patriarch’s resignation, framing it as a defense of the Turkish people.
After the Republic of Turkey was established in October 1923, the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate officially moved its headquarters from Kayseri to Istanbul on June 6, 1924, at a meeting at the Church of Panagia Kafatiani.
That same year, Papa Eftim and his family were exempted from the population exchange with Greece, cementing the state’s endorsement. Three of his sisters, however, chose to leave for Greece.
Questions remain about his motive. Was Papa Eftim driven by faith, ambition, nationalism – or all three? The truth may never be clear. Mustafa Kemal’s own words offer one clue: “Papa Eftim offered services to this country as much as an entire army.”
Papa Eftim’s influence waned after Atatürk’s death. But a new lifeline appeared in 1960, following the military coup. That eager new patron was Alpaslan Türkeş – the ultra-nationalist figure who would later lead the paramilitary Grey Wolves.
When Papa Eftim I died in 1968, the Greek Orthodox Church refused to bury him in the Şişli cemetery. The funeral proceeded only through official intervention and was attended by senators, deputies, and other dignitaries.
It was a fittingly dramatic end for a man who had rewritten the rules of faith and power in Istanbul.
Papa Eftim’s son, Turgut Erenerol (born Yiorghos Karahisarithis), became the second patriarch, and the position has remained in the family ever since.
Influential figures continue to visit, and nationalist expressions frequently surface in the media. Now, with the Gagauz Turks entering the picture, the church’s walls hold new tension – and new questions…
References & Further Reading
- Psomiades, H. J. (1961). The Ecumenical Patriarchate under the Turkish Republic: The first ten years. Balkan Studies, 2(1), 1–30. https://ojs.lib.uom.gr/index.php/BalkanStudies/article/view/40
- Vlad, M. M. (2013). The uncanonical Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate: An outcome of the strained relations between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Turkish state. Altarul Reîntregirii, XVIII(Suppl_2), 421–436. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=103162
- Benlisoy, F. (2002). Papa Eftim and the foundation of the Turkish Orthodox Church. Boğaziçi University Digital Archive. https://digitalarchive.library.bogazici.edu.tr/items/25aee474-30e7-491f-9a16-e1419b66cb57/full
- Cihangir, E. (1996). Papa Eftim’in muhtıraları ve Türk Ortodoks Patrikhanesi. Turan Yayıncılık. https://de.scribd.com/document/789992724/Papa-Eftim-Turk-Ortodoks-Patrikhanesi
- Aksamaz, A. İ. (2020, February 4). Kuvai Milliyeci bir Hristiyan! Papaz Eftim’in hikayesi. Son Haber. https://sonhaber.ch/hiristiyan-turkler-ve-papa-eftim
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