St. Constantine and Helena Church (Edirne)
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The Church of Sweti Sweti Konstantin and Elena ( Bulgarian църква "Св. Св. Константин и Елена", St. Konstantin-und-Helena-Kirche , Turkish Konstantin ve Elena Kilisesi ) is a Bulgarian Orthodox church in Edirne (Bulgar.) in northwestern Turkey . It is consecrated to Saints Constantine and Helene . Besides the Georg Church (built in 1880) it is the only surviving Bulgarian church in Edirne. Both churches are also the only surviving churches in Edirne.
location
The Church of Saints Constantine and Elena is located in the eastern Thracian , Turkish city of Edirne. It is located in the southwest part of the city in the Kirişhane district in Machalla Abdurahman . The church is located on Mezarlik Street, near Uzun Kaldırım Boulevard. The confluence of the Tundscha River ( Tunca in Turkish ) into the Mariza River is in the immediate vicinity .
history
The church was built in 1869. The construction was financed by donations from Bulgarians in Edirne, who came from Macedonia and other regions of Thrace . The construction work, which began on March 3rd and ended on September 25th of the same year, was directed by Usta (builder) Konstantin Kazakow , born in Bulgarköy . A year later, the Bulgarian Orthodox believers were able to celebrate their ecclesiastical independence within the Ottoman Empire in the church with the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate .
The church is a three-aisled pseudo - basilica with a raised ceiling, with an area of approx. 600 m². The walls were built in stone masonry, which was characteristic of the architecture of the late Revival period . Two colonnades support the ceiling and the roof stalls from the inside. Two galleries were built in the west aisle .
In 1888, the Metropolitan of the Bulgarian parish was buried in Edirne Evstatij (1832–1888) in the east wing of the church . His tombstone and memorial were moved near the main entrance to the church during the 2008 reconstruction.
After the Second Balkan War of 1913, when the Thracian Bulgarians were expelled, the church was abandoned, fell into disrepair and was plundered several times. However, unlike other Bulgarian church buildings in the region, it escaped the fate of total destruction until the late 1980s, although it was set on fire when it was looted again. In 2006 the competent Bulgarian authority was able to conclude an agreement with the Turkish side after years of negotiations. In the same year the remains of the former roof structure were removed, the walls secured and the entire building protected from the weather by a tarpaulin.
The reconstruction work could begin at the beginning of 2008. The church was reconstructed in its original state based on old photos and drawings. On September 14th of the same year, the church was consecrated anew in the presence of the Bulgarian Metropolitan von Rousse Neofit and other Bulgarian and Turkish dignitaries. The iconostasis with its 69 icons , a gift from the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, was also reconstructed from photographs from the 1930s.
On October 17, 2010, a monument to the first Bulgarian exarch, Anthim I , from nearby Kirklareli , was ceremoniously unveiled in the courtyard of the church .
Inscriptions
Several inscriptions were found during the reconstruction of the church in 2008. They were installed in various places during the new construction. The inscription for the consecration of the church from 1869 with the following text is located above the west portal:
Bulgarian:
- Во слава единосъшныя и животворашiа и неразделныа тройцы отца и сина и светаго духа. съ благоволенiето на негово импера-торско величество султана Абдул-Азис ха-на; начна да са гради, въ Кирешена-та, сей православный блъгарскый храмъ на сваты рамъ на сваты рамъ на сваты рам на сваты рам на сваты равно-анаты равно-анаты равно-анаты равно-анана равно-18. А свърши са на 25-ый септем въ съще-то лето И съгради са при старанiе-то, сей хранiе-то, сей хранiе то сей хранiе ананежелаланив. е. блъгаро-джелепско и народно общество в Едрене в 1869 лето
Approximate German translation:
- To the glory of the Triune Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit . With the blessing of His Imperial Highness the Sultan Abdülaziz , the construction of this Orthodox Bulgarian church of the Holy Apostles Constantine and Elena began in Kirişhane on March 3, 1869. And was completed on September 25 of the same year. It was built by the hard work of the down-to-earth and native Bulgarians, that is, by the Bulgarian community in Edirne in 1869
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The following inscription in Russian comes from the time of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877/78, when Edirne was captured by the Russians:
За Братско-то Воспоминанiе |
For fraternal memory |
The inscription is now above the east entrance of the church courtyard.
Web links
- Official website (bulg.)
Coordinates: 41 ° 39 '48.4 " N , 26 ° 33' 50.8" E