By SOTIRIS LETSIOS*
The long-awaited redevelopment of the Greek Orphanage of Prinkipo has now entered its final phase following the signing of a landmark agreement through which the Ecumenical Patriarchate is moving forward, without delay and with determination, to implement a project expected to safeguard and highlight the history of the historic complex. For decades, the Greek Orphanage of Prinkipo had remained abandoned and exposed to the ravages of time.
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Phanar: Agreement reached for the redevelopment of the Prinkipo Orphanage Complex
The agreement was signed on June 15 by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Serdar Bilgili, Chairman of Bilgili Holding, one of Türkiye’s leading real estate investment companies. Also present at the signing was Konstantza Sbokou-Konstantakopoulou, representing ENSOFI Holding, a pioneering Greek company specializing in sustainable tourism development and real estate investment.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, Bilgili Holding, and ENSOFI Holding are collaborating on this significant initiative. The signing ceremony took place at the Marasleio School building in the Phanar and was attended by Archbishop Makarios of Australia, who chairs the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s special committee that studied and finalized the agreement.
Also present was Panteleimon Vingas, Archon Grand Chartophylax of the Great Church of Christ, who has coordinated the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s efforts concerning the Orphanage project in recent years, along with senior executives from both companies.
Among those attending were Metropolitan Theoleptos of Iconium, a member of the Holy and Sacred Synod, Metropolitan Gregory of Ankara, Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod, and other officials of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
THE 206 ROOMS
The Greek Orphanage of Prinkipo was built in 1898 by the French-Ottoman architect Alexander Vallaury, at the initiative of the French company Maurice de Beaux Arts. The five-story building featured 206 rooms, along with ballrooms, lecture halls, dining rooms, and numerous other facilities. To this day, it is regarded as the largest wooden building in Europe.
The original plan envisioned the complex as a luxury hotel and casino. However, these plans were never realized after Sultan Abdul Hamid II prohibited its operation on the grounds of “public morality.” Although this was the official explanation, it has long been suggested that the real reason was the Sultan’s suspicion that the premises might be used by the Young Turks as a base for organizing activities aimed at overthrowing his regime.
In 1903, the building and its surrounding 23-acre estate came into the ownership of the prominent benefactor Eleni Zarifi, who subsequently donated the entire property to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
THOUSANDS OF ORPHANS
In 1903, the Ecumenical Patriarchate transferred the property to the Boys’ Orphanage Foundation, transforming it into a home where orphaned children could find shelter, protection, and education. The institution operated in this capacity until 1964, providing primary education to 5,744 children.
Most of the resident students were orphans or children displaced by persecution from Eastern Thrace, Pontus, Cappadocia, the Sea of Marmara region, and western Asia Minor. In addition to receiving a standard primary education, the children were taught music, theatre, painting, and other arts, while also participating in sports activities. Although the orphanage initially admitted only boys, girls were later welcomed as well.
Many graduates of the Prinkipo Orphanage went on to excel academically and distinguished themselves in various scientific and professional fields. Remarkably, the institution also maintained its own hospital unit. Religious life formed an essential part of the children’s upbringing, with regular attendance at services in the nearby Monastery of Christ, offering spiritual comfort and hope to generations of young residents.
The year 1964 marked a turning point in Greek-Turkish relations amid the Cyprus crisis, following the anti-Greek pogrom of 1955 in Constantinople. That year, the Turkish authorities ordered the closure of the orphanage, bringing its decades-long mission to an end.
In 1997, Turkey’s General Directorate of Foundations first dissolved the Foundation’s elected board—composed of seven members of the Greek Orthodox community—and subsequently confiscated the orphanage building.
A major legal breakthrough came in 2010, when, following an appeal by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) recognized the Patriarchate’s ownership of the property after it had been legally challenged in Türkiye. The landmark ruling marked the beginning of the Patriarchate’s efforts to secure the most appropriate solution for preserving and restoring this unique historic monument—the only property for which the Ecumenical Patriarchate holds title deeds in its own name.
*Republished by the newspaper “Orthodoxi Alitheia”, translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
