Hagia Andrea Church
Today, Hagia Andrea, Hagia Pantelymon and Hagia Ilia Churches are known as Apartment churches. In fact, these three churches are Russian Chapels. The buildings where the churches are located were built in the 19th century to accommodate Russian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem during the Tsarist period. The upper floors of these buildings, which consist of small inn-shaped rooms, are also arranged as churches. At that time, Russian pilgrims going to Athos were staying in these rooms. The structure resembles an arcade at first glance. You have to look up carefully to see the chapel. Today, the churches are affiliated with the Fener Greek Patriarchate, not the Russian Patriarchate. But this is not initially the case. The 19th century is particularly remarkable for the Russian Tsardom. During this period, Tsarist Russia adopted the policy of Pan-Slavism and increased its influence in the Balkans and the Orthodox world. The Moscow Patriarchate was the only patriarchate not under Ottoman rule at that time. One of the reasons for the outbreak of the Crimean War was that Russia pressured the Ottoman Empire by requesting that some authorities in Jerusalem, considered sacred by Orthodox Christians, be transferred to it. These apartment churches are built in such an environment for the purpose of being used by Russian clergy and pilgrims during their travels to Athos and Jerusalem. A possible reason why these buildings were built as apartments and inns is the high housing and land prices in the Karaköy region. After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, aid to these churches was stopped. However, White Russians who escaped from the Bolsheviks and came to Istanbul constitute the new congregation of these churches. During this period, apartment churches were connected to the Athos region under the control of the Fener Patriarchate. Today, a service is held every Sunday in Aya Panteleimon, one of the churches in Athos.
