Changes After Construction
The church burned in the fire of April 25, 1696, and after being rebuilt, it was opened for worship on September 14, 1698.
The church burned again in 1731, and after being rebuilt, it was opened for worship on October 1, 1734.
In 1840, during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid, the building was renewed from the ground up; the main mass that survives today took shape as a result of this renewal.
In February 1924, the building began to be used as the seat of the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate in Galata.
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The church belongs to the Independent Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate.
The building has also been known by the names “Kefeli Church” and “Central Church of the Virgin Mary.”
Sources record that the church has a foundation tradition associated with the Urum community originating from Kaffa (Kefe) in Crimea.
The building is dedicated to the Virgin Mary; in the Eastern church tradition, this dedication has been expressed by the name “Panayia.”
The source states that the “Hodogetria Virgin Mary” icon is located in the north aisle of the church.
It is stated that, during the migrations that began after the Conquest of Istanbul, the Urum community who came from Kaffa to Istanbul in 1475 built the church for the Black Virgin Mary icon they brought with them, and that for this reason the church came to be called the Church of the Virgin Mary.
