RUM ORTHODOX CHURCH
Sille is a village located 7 km west of Konya. It was mostly inhabited by Anatolian Greeks until 1923. It was one of the first centers of the early Christian period.
On the pilgrimage route from Constantinople to Jerusalem, St Elena Church was built in 327 A.D.
It refers to Emperor Constantine’s mother name who had paid a visit to this region and decided the construction of this church.
Hallacdere Monastery near Ortahisar, Turkey
MONASTERIES
In Sille, Jelaleddin Mevlana Rumi (spiritual founder of Mevlevi sufi brotherhood) used to visit the Ak monastery and talked to the priests.
From Sille to Cappadocia, hundreds of monasteries and churches were built as Saint-Paul judged the region suitable for missionary training. From VIth century to IXth century, Göreme had been recognized as one of the largest Christian center in the world.
The Greek Orthodox Church is part of the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Following the signature of the Convention concerning the exchange of Greek and Turkish populations in 1923, 1.5 million of Anatolian Greeks and 500,000 Turks were forced to emigrate to Greece and Turkey.
This church was built in 1919, four years later was abandonned.
Aziz Dimitros Church in Gülsehir, Turkey
Christ Pantocrator in the Dark Church in Göreme Museum, Turkey
The icon of Christ Pantocrator has been mostly developed by the Eastern Orthodox Church as its central icon. Instead Catholic Church prefers using a symbol of Christ as child or dying on the cross.
Saint-Paul was born in Tarsus, a very historic city located in Turkey. Paul converted to Christianism and travelled into Turkey during his first and secondary missionary journeys.
« At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel. in the faith, and increased in number daily. » Acts 14
The paradox between money and cHristian churcH DOGMA
« Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income »
Ecclesiastes 5:10