Last updated on .
During Orthodox Holy Week and Easter in Istanbul, some churches that are typically closed come back to life.
My Experiences Spending Orthodox Easter in Istanbul
I’ve been very lucky to be able to spend Holy Week in Istanbul in two different years. Many Orthodox churches are closed on most days, including Sundays. It’s a very beautiful time of year no matter where I am, but it had special meaning being in the city that’s home of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Christian world.
That being said, I decided not to attend any of the services at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Fener neighborhood because of the huge crowds and transportation issues. It wouldn’t have been the spiritual experience I had expected.
Even though I was far away from my family, spending Easter in Istanbul was a memorable experience. I’m sure it was very different and much more festive when there were more than 100,000 Greeks in the city, but it’s still a special place to celebrate this important holiday. I can see why it’s becoming more and more popular for Greeks from Greece and other Orthodox Christians to travel to Istanbul for Holy Week and Easter.
Orthodox Easter in Istanbul: 2011
I attended Resurrection services at Agia Triada Taksim in April 2011. It was nearly impossible to even enter the church unless you went very early or stayed well past midnight. People packed into the church and the crowd overflowed onto the lawn and outside the gates. After midnight, it was incredible to see the people walking around Istiklal Street after the service with their candles lit.
I was finally able to enter the church about a half hour after midnight. I was able to join the congregation in singing Χριστός Ανέστη (Christ has Risen) and attend the rest of the service. Surprisingly, many curious Turks wandered inside to watch. Because of the animosity between the two communities over the past 500 years, violence and discrimination towards the Greek minority, and the forced deportation of many minority Greeks from their homes in Istanbul, I wasn’t expecting to see any Turks in the church at all. It was nice to see them and it reinforced my beliefs and observations that most people don’t want to see hate between the two communities.
After the service, at a few restaurants behind Agia Triada Taksim, I was able to find magiritsa (μαγειρίτσα), a traditional soup served to break the fast after the Resurrection.
Orthodox Easter in Istanbul: 2013
On Good Friday 2013, I visited St. Demetrios in Kurtuluş and Agia Efimia in Kadıköy. St. Demetrios is often open while Agia Efimia is rarely used. I was very happy to have the opportunity to see the inside of St. Efimia for the first time.
That same evening, I attended Good Friday services at Agia Triada in Taksim. It was jam packed with tourists from Greece and other Orthodox countries.
For the Resurrection service, I went to Agia Triada in Moda, which was just around the corner from my apartment. It was much less crowded and less stressful than at Taksim in 2011. I was able to attend the entire service inside the church. Unlike at Taksim, most people stayed after midnight, but there were no crowds of people on the street with candles after the service. It was much more low-key, mainly full of locals and their relatives who traveled from Greece.
