8 October 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.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



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

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...

Places to Visit in Oman

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

There are many places to visit in Oman. In this article, we wanted to talk about a wonderful country that...

Leptis Magna was once one of the most important African cities of the Roman Empire

28 September 2021

28 September 2021

The ancient city of Leptis Magna, as was its name in antiquity, was once one of the most prominent and...

Explore 1,400-year-old ruins, submerged in Eastern China – Atlantis of China

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Deep in Qiandao Lake, between China’s Five Lion Mountains, lie the mysterious ruins of two ancient cities, dating back to...

Venice of the Pacific: The mysterious Micronesian ruins of Nan Madol

12 July 2022

12 July 2022

Sometimes art and architecture challenge our perceptions of what was formerly thought to be feasible and what our forefathers were...

Tutankhamun of Kazakhstan, “Golden Man”

1 August 2024

1 August 2024

The Golden Man, the main symbol of Kazakhstan’s independence, is a warrior’s costume from about the 5th century BC that...

Historical Beauties of Turkmenistan

10 May 2021

10 May 2021

Turkmenistan is a nation with a big history and terrain in central Asia, surrounded by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Iran,...

A Byzantine Princess, a Mongol Khan, and a Church: The Bloody Church and Its Unknown History

13 May 2025

13 May 2025

Nestled at the base of the imposing Phanar Greek Orthodox College, a landmark intrinsically linked to the panoramic vistas of...

The Dispilio Tablet: may be the earliest known written text

7 January 2022

7 January 2022

Although traditional archeology claims that writing was not invented in Sumer between 3000 and 4000 BC, an artifact that contradicted...

Discovering the rare works of Sanliurfa Archaeology Museum

13 October 2021

13 October 2021

The Sanlıurfa Archaeology Museum building involves many main attributes, such as the largest enclosed space and exhibition hall museum in...

Clarifying The Complexities Of Communication Across Millennia In Mesoamerica

20 February 2022

20 February 2022

The long-held consensus that the more populated and “civilized” a society, the more complex their communication may be more nuanced...

The very unknown ancient city of the Mediterranean; Syedra

3 July 2022

3 July 2022

Known as Turkey’s holiday paradise, the Antalya region is a treasure when it comes to ancient cities. Close to the...

4,000 Years of Wisdom: Women’s Rights and Inheritance in the Kültepe Tablets

8 March 2025

8 March 2025

The Kültepe Tablets, discovered in the ancient site of Kültepe (ancient Kanesh) in central Anatolia, are approximately 4,000 years old...

Turkey’s Must-See Ancient Cities

23 March 2021

23 March 2021

From the classical cities scattered on the coast to the earliest archaeological sites that can be traced back to human...

Saudi Arabia’s the Red Sea Project

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

Saudi Arabia is preparing a huge tourism project on the west coast of 28,000 square kilometers and will cover more...