SAINT STEPHEN ETIENNE ARMENIAN CHURCH SMYRNA Postcard c

The St. Stepanos Church () was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located in the

Basmane Basmane railway station () is an intercity and regional railway terminal and rapid transit station in İzmir, Turkey. Along with Alsancak station, Basmane is one of two railway terminals in the city. All TCDD Taşımacılık trains terminate at t ...

district of the city of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

(now

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Location and architecture

It was the most prominent Armenian church in the city, until it was destroyed by the

Great Fire of Smyrna The burning of Smyrna (, "Smyrna Catastrophe"; , "1922 İzmir Fire"; , ''Zmyuṙnio Mets Hrdeh'') destroyed much of the port city of Smyrna (modern İzmir, Turkey) in September 1922. Eyewitness reports state that the fire began on 13 September 1 ...

in 1922. The church was located in the Armenian quarter of the city and served the Armenian community along with the Surp Mesrop Boarding School for Boys and Surp Hripsime School for Girls. The schools were also located in the Basmane district. The church building was surrounded a huge yard and a high wall. The church building build ca. 1863 was a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

with a dome. The front of the temple portico was spacious and the church gate had bronze door panels with a large reliefs, one of them depicting the protomartyr

Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

Great Fire of Smyrna events

During the

, more than a thousand local

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, as well as a number of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, were barricaded in order to avoid atrocities committed by Turkish troops and irregulars. According to some estimates the number of civilians there reached 8,000, while 2,000 of them were children. Turkish troops attempted to destroy the walls by shooting with mortar fire. Finally most of the civilians were saved due to intervention by the metropolitan bishop of Ephesus. The latter informed the local Catholic bishop who managed to take the initiative to transfer the civilians to the Levantine quarter of the city. However, on the way, atrocities by Turkish troops were not avoided, many of the civilians were beaten, while a number was sent to concentration camps. The church was looted by Turkish troops after the evacuation.

References

External links

On St. Stepanos.
in

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{coord, 38, 25, 26, N, 27, 8, 17, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:TR, display=title Churches completed in 1863 1863 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Buildings and structures demolished in 1922 1922 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire Destroyed Armenian churches in Turkey Churches in İzmir 1920s fires in Europe 1922 fires Burning of Smyrna Burned buildings and structures in Turkey