Description
The Patriarchal Church of St. George (Turkish: Aya Yorgi Fener Rum Ortodoks Patrikhanesi Kilisesi) has been affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate since the 6th century. Built behind the historical seawalls on the Golden Horn, it houses mosaics and sacred relics that date to the Byzantine period. The Throne of the Patriarch, the pillar on which Jesus was believed to have been scourged in Jerusalem, and the remains of three saints are among the valuable artifacts housed here.
Badly damaged by fire in 1941, the church was reopened in 1991 after a restoration project that began in 1989.