Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox Church
Hagia Triada is a Greek Orthodox church located in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. southwest of Taksim Square; Located at the intersection of Meşelik Street, Istiklal Street and Sıraselviler Street, the church is one of the largest Greek Orthodox shrines in Istanbul. It is still actively used by the Greek community. There was previously an old Greek Orthodox cemetery and a wooden church dedicated to Hagia Yorgi on the land where the church is located. It was decided to demolish the church along with the cemetery and replace it with a more magnificent church, on the grounds that it could not meet the needs of the Greek Orthodox community of the period. The foundations of the building, which was constructed by Vasilakis Ioannidis Efendi based on the drawings of the Greek architect Potesaros, were laid on 13 August 1876 with the permission given during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, and its official opening was held on Sunday, 14 September 1880, which coincided with the Feast of the Cross. The cemetery was transferred to Pangaltı district in 1876. Located in a large garden surrounded by high walls, the church is a masonry building with a Greek cross plan and a central dome. It lies on the east-west axis. There are two four-storey, domed, Gothic-style bell towers located symmetrically on both sides of the entrance facade and also the narthex. The twelve windows on the dome symbolize the twelve apostles of Jesus. Just like in Hagia Sophia, there are frescoes of six-winged Seraph angels on the four pendentives that support the dome.
