Listed 3 sub titles with search on: Places of worship for wider area of: "TURKEY Country EUROPE" .
KIZIL ADARA (Island complex) TURKEY
The Holy Theological School at Chalki
The Holy Theological at Chalki is located at the top of a hill called
the Hill of Hope, on the island of Chalki, one of the Princess islands. It’s approximately
one hour by boat from the shores of Constantinople.
On the grounds of the School is the monastery of the Holy Trinity which was founded
during the Byzantine period, though the exact date of its establishment is unknown.
The reestablishment and reconstitution of the monastery are associated with the
Ecumenical Patriarchs Mega Photio, Mitrophani III, and Germanos IV. When Germanos
IV (1872-1845) visited the monastery in 1842 and saw the School’s reconstruction
and reconstitution which was approved by the Turkish authorities. On the 1st of
October 1844, with a special ceremony to mark the occasion, the operation of both
the Holy Monastery and the Theological School were resumed.
The building which originally housed the Monastery was a wooden structure.
It comprised rooms for the professors, class rooms, an infirmary, administrative
offices and Patriarchal quarters. The library of the School was housed in a nearby
two story stone building. However, the earthquake of June 28th 1894 completely
destroyed all the facilities except for the church and this led to a halt in the
School’s operation.
The Holy Monastery and the Theological School of Chalki owe its presentday
form to the contribution made by the benefactor Pavlos Skilitsis Stefanovik. It
was he who charged the architect Periklis Fotiadis with the design and construction
of the new facilities which took the form of the Greek letter P. The School’s
complex is composed of a basement, ground floor and two stories. The inauguration
took place on October 6th 1896, after which the functioning of the School was
resumed. During the 50s modifications were made to the complex in order to satisfy
new needs and requirements. New contemporary fixtures for bathrooms, central heating,
kitchen, and cold storage were installed; the entire roof was repaired, the infirmary
and the administrative offices were reorganized. During this same period numerous
repairs were made to the Monastery’s church.
The School’s building are surrounded by gardens whose aesthetic design
and creation were overseen by Bishop Prinkiponison Dorotheos. Behind the altar
of the Monastery’s church and in a special location just beyond the garden are
located the graves of Patriarchs, bishops and teachers of the School.
The Holy Theological School of Chalki was established in order to
meet the educational needs of the church of Constantinople and of Orthodoxy in
general. Other contributing causes included the renaissance in learning which
occured during the 19th century; the need for ecclesiastical and theological instruction
of the orthodox clergy; the orderly and systematic cultivation of theological
knowledge; the need to confront western ideologies with an anti-Christian bias,
such as materialism and sociophilosophical systems with rigorous argumentation;
and finally the need to confront the proselitization efforts which were being
conducted by western Christian denominations at the expense of Orthodoxy.
The history of the Holy Theological School of Chalki, from its establishment
in 1884 until today, contains five distinct periods: the first is from 1844 up
to 1999. During this period, with some exceptions, the School had seven grades,
four high school level and three theological grades. In the second period from
1999 to 1923, the high school division was dissolved and the School functioned
as an Academy with five grades. In the third period from 1923 to 1951 the old
seven grade system was restored. In the fourth period, from 1951 to 1971, the
School had seven classes, three at the high school level and four theological
grades. In 1971 the School was closed according to a law that was promulgated
by the Turkish goverment which prohibited the operation of private institutions
of higher learning. Thus, since 1971, despite occasional promises by the Turkish
authorities, the School has been closed. However, Orthodox faithful and friends
of Orthodoxy visit and congregate at the School, and recently, under the initiative
of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios, international ecological conferences
and seminars with international patricipation have been hosted at the School.
The Holy Theological School of Chalki operated under the various Educational
laws that were promulgated in 1845, 1853, 1857, 1867, 1874, 1898, 1903, and 1951.
The law of 1903 provided the legal framework under which the modern day School
operated. This law underwent modification in 1923 (and in subsequent years), in
accordance with the Regulations of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of
Turkey regarding Minority schools in Middle Level Education. The 1951 Code was
ratified by the Turkish Republic. Regarding the regulation the School’s internal
operations, such as matters pertaining to conduct, discipline, and administration,
there exist special internal rules that are drafted by the School itself.
The Theological School of Chalki is an institution of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and therefore the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the
Ecumenical Throne that surrounds the Patriarch, are its immediate patron, regulator,
and spiritual guide. Matters pertaining to the School are handled by a special
committee known as the «Ephors of the Holy Theological School of Chalki». This
Committee operates out of a special office located at the Patriarchate and it
reports directly to the Holy Synod. Among its responsibilities are the School’s
budget, staff appointments, student admissions, and more broadly the supervision
of the School.
The internal regulation of the School is the responsibility of its
Director, who is called the Scholarch. An archimandrite may be appointed to the
post of Scholarch but usually, he is either a bishop or an archbishop. He serves
as the director of the teaching staff and as the prior of the monastic brotherhood
whose members are also the School’s students. The Scholarch is assisted by the
teaching staff, the Secretary, the superintendent of the student body, the librarian,
the secretary of administration are the household manager. The Scholarch is usually
appointed from amongst the unmarried clerics of the teaching staff. Scholarch
who directed thw School for a number of consecutive years during the 19th century
were Constantinos Typaldos (1844-1864) and the archimandrite Germanos Grigoras
(1868-69, 1877-97?). During thw 20th century the Scholarchs of the school were
the Metropolitan of Selefkia, Germanos Strinopoulos (1907-1922), the Metropolitan
Ioakim Pelekanos (1924-1931), the Metropolitan of Philadelfia, Emilianos (1032-1942),
the Metropolitan of Neokessaria, Chrisostomos Koronaios (1942-1950), the Metropolitan
of Ikonion, Iakovos Stefanidis (1951-1955) and the Metropolitan of Stavropolis,
Maximos Repanelis (1955-1991).
This extract is cited May 2003 from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople URL below, which contains images.
PSAMATHIA (Ancient city) TURKEY
(Latin Studium), the most important monastery at Constantinople,
situated not far from the Propontis
in the section of the city called Psamathia. It was founded in 462 or 463 by the
consul Studios (Studius), a Roman who had settled in Constantinople,
and was dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Its monks came from the monastery of
Acoemetae.
At a later date the laws and customs of Studion were taken as models
by the monks of Mount Athos
and of many other monasteries of the Byzantine Empire; even today they have influence.
The Studites gave the first proof of their devotion to the Faith and the Church
during the schism of Acacius (484- 519); they also remained loyal during the storms
of Iconoclastic dispute in the eighth and ninth centuries.
Abbot Nicholas (848-5 and 855-58) refused to recognize the Patriarch
Photius and was on this account imprisoned in the Studion. He was succeeded by
five abbots who recognized the patriarch. The brilliant period of the Studion
came to an end at this time.
As regards the intellectual life of the monastery in other directions
it is especially celebrated for its famous school of calligraphy which was established
by St. Theodore. In the eighth and eleventh centuries the monastery was the centre
of Byzantine religious poetry; a number of the hymns are still used in the Greek
Church. Besides St. Theodore and Nicetas, a number of other theological writers
are known.
In 1204 the monastery was destroyed by the Crusaders and was not rebuilt
until 1290; the greater part of it was again destroyed when the Turks captured
Constantinople (1453). The
only part now in existence is the Church of St. John Baptist, probably the oldest
remaining church in Constantinople,
a basilica which still preserves from the early period two stories of columns
on the sides and a wooden ceiling.
Klemens Loffler, ed.
Transcribed by: Michael C. Tinkler
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!