13 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Istanbul’s Iron Church of Unique Beauty

The Bulgarian Church of St. Stephens was constructed like a cross-shaped Basilica. St. Stephen Church is also known as The Iron Church since its structure is made of Cast Iron.

It is also called Stevi Stefan in Bulgarian which means Saint Stephen. this church is dedicated to Saint Stephen who is one of the first deacons and the first Christian martyr.

The first church was a wooden construction built near the Golden Horn, and the alter of the current church faces the Golden Horn. After the wooden church was destroyed in a fire, the cast-iron structure was built on its location. According to some sources, this is the only iron church standing at this moment!

Sultan Abdülaziz, according to the popular tale, refused to allow the city’s Bulgarian Orthodox minority to erect a church. The sultan stated that St. Stephen must be finished in a single month, “permitting” its construction in a manner he definitely considered failsafe. But, like so many fantastic stories, the tale of the sultan’s challenge and the Bulgarian triumph isn’t quite true.

Iron church İstanbul
The Bulgarian St. Stephen Church is also known as The Iron Church since its structure is made of Cast Iron. Photo: Wikipedia

Nationalism waves swept the globe following the French Revolution. Furthermore, these waves had a significant impact on the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, and Bulgarians attempted to find a means to pray in Bulgarian. As you may be aware, Catholics usually use Latin while Orthodox use Greek. And, like Bulgarians, some of the nationalities aspired to speak their own language. However, the Fener Greek Patriarchate was first unwilling to allow Bulgarians to speak their own language and create their own exarchate.

Stefan Bogoridi wrote a letter to the sultan to explain the worship in Bulgarian and this request was accepted. He had a house where the current church was constructed. So, he moved to a new house and donated the plot.

Statue of Stefan Bogoridi in the churchyard.
Statue of Stefan Bogoridi in the churchyard.

In 1850, they also constructed the building for priests. In 1870, the Bulgarian side left the Greek Patriarchate with Sultan Abdulaziz’s order. After this order, the Bulgarian exarchate has officially started the process.

The Iron Church

The old church was built of wood and was destroyed by a fire. The famous Fossati brothers devised a plan, but the ground was too unstable owing to its location on the coast, and the project was shelved. The exarchate then held a competition, which was won by Armenian architect Hovsep Aznavur. The building of the church began in 1893, and it was completed in 1898.

The church is in basilica form and represents neo-gothic and neo-baroque styles. There are three floors.
The church is in basilica form and represents neo-gothic and neo-baroque styles. There are three floors.

Waagner, a well-known Austrian business, built an entire prefabricated church and tested it before shipping it to Istanbul. The church was transported by ship across the Danube River, then transferred to the Black Sea, and finally sailed through the Bosphorus. As a result, the church weighs just 500 tons. The piles are built of wood and are quite robust. They expanded in the water and show very good strength.

The only remaining original feature from the wooden church that predated the Iron Church is its stone altar, still in use to this day. Inaugurated on September 8, 1898, one of the world’s few full-metal churches has remained in constant use ever since.

The church reopened in January 2018 after an extensive renovation. The Bulgarian Iron Church is very close to Fener pier and Balat pier.

The official address: Balat, Murselpasa Cd. No:10, 34087 Fatih/Istanbul

Related Articles

The mystery of Cathedral of Salamanca’s astronaut figure, isn’t what people think it is

10 March 2022

10 March 2022

There is a photograph of an “astronaut” carved in a 16th century Spanish cathedral in Salamanca. Known as the Catedral...

Seven Roman altars multicolored in the Great Northern Museum

12 November 2021

12 November 2021

We know that the ancient world is now very colorful. But these colors weren’t just limited to robes and other...

500-year-old Inca mummy, as if in a deep sleep “La Doncella”

24 August 2021

24 August 2021

Three Inca mummies found near the high Volcán Llullaillaco peak in Argentina in 1999 stunned all scientists. The 3 Incas...

Vampires Were Born Here: The Forgotten Serbian Village Behind the World’s Oldest Vampire Legend

18 July 2025

18 July 2025

Picture a quiet Balkan village at dusk: the sun dips behind dense forests, mist curls around forgotten gravestones, and the...

Iran’s legendary ruined city “Susa”

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

Ancient Susa is one of the oldest cities in the world. The Elamite, Persian, and Parthian empires formerly ruled over...

Georgia’s Queen of Kings “Tamar the Great”

17 August 2021

17 August 2021

Queen Tamar (1160-1235 CE) reigned during Georgia’s Golden Age, when the country’s frontiers stretched from the Black Sea to the...

Michelangelo, the artistic giant, was actually rather short

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

The legendary Michelangelo Buonarroti left huge works behind as an artist. But Italian researchers found that the shoes of this...

The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

The Babylonian captivity or exile was an era in ancient Israel’s history. That exile began with a two-stage expulsion in...

Reconstruction of Ancient iconic buildings Using Architectural GIFs

14 January 2022

14 January 2022

Today, tourists’ perceptions of the world’s great architectural wonders are firmly focused on their current state of ruin, leaving the...

A birthplace of complex musical instruments “Iran”

9 January 2022

9 January 2022

Music is a form of art, which derives from the Greek word meaning “art of the Muses.” While it is...

“Dholavira,” the settlement with the world’s oldest signboard

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Dholavira, also known as Kotda (which means “big fort”), is one of the islands in Kutch’s vast desert. The city...

Britain’s Best Viking Museums

18 March 2021

18 March 2021

The Vikings were famous seafaring people from the late 8th to early 11th centuries who made a name for themselves...

Unique work of Minoan art, the Pylos Combat Agate must be the David of the Prehistoric era

21 November 2021

21 November 2021

Found in a Greek tomb dating back 3,500 years, the artifact is so well designed that it looks as lively...

Jiroft: The Mysterious Rival of Mesopotamia and the Dawn of an Ancient Civilization

24 March 2025

24 March 2025

Recent archaeological discoveries in southeast Iran are reshaping our understanding of early civilizations, particularly the Jiroft Civilization, which thrived around...

Queen Kubaba: Some 4,500 years ago, a woman rose to power and reigned over one of the largest civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia

28 December 2023

28 December 2023

Is it possible to say who was the first queen in history? Given the size and diversity of human civilization,...