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Though
it looks like stone, the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church of
St. Stephen of the Bulgars,
on the Golden
Horn in Balat,
is made of cast iron.
It
was was
cast in Vienna, floated down
the Danube on 100
barges,
and bolted
together here in Istanbul in
1871.
This
was the cathderal church of the Bulgarian
Exarch, a title and position
invented by the Ottoman sultan
when, in the later 1800s, the sultan's
Bulgarian subjects demanded to be
emancipated from the authority of
the Greek Orthodox Patriarch.
At
this time of ethnic nationalism,
the Bulgarians claimed, with justification,
that the patriarch favored Greeks
over Bulgars even though both were
orthodox Christians.
The "palace" of
the Bulgarian Exarch was the building
right across the street from the
church. It's hardly palatial, especially
today.
The
church is still used for services
by Istanbul's
small, dwindling community of Bulgarian
orthodox residents.
To
visit the church interior you must
find the caretaker, not an
easy task as there are no formal
visiting hours. Sunday morning,
when services are held, may be the
best time.
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