Bulgarian Church St. Georgi in Edirne

The church St. Holy Martyr Georgi is located in the northeastern part of Edirne (Turkey) in the Kaiak district. Once this region was inhabited mainly by Bulgarians. The foundations of the church was laid on April 23, 1880, and the church was completed the same year. The construction of the Bulgarian church was officially permitted by sultan Hamid the Second. The Bulgarian sacred place is a three-apse pseudo-basilica, typical for the late Bulgarian National Revival. Initially the divine service was performed in Greek, but because of the negative reaction of the Bulgarians, the priests started serve in Bulgarian. In the recent 20-30 years the church was maintained voluntary by one of the few ancestral Bulgarians in Edirne – Philip Chakarak. His son Alexander graduated at the Sofia Theology School, and in 2001 was ordained was a priest and in 2003 he was officially admitted to serve in Edirne. In 2001 a project was elaborated under the Programme for protection of the immovable cultural inheritance for the period 2002-2003. The repair works started on October 1, 2003 and were completed on April 30, 2004. The iconostasis, the pulpit, the throne and a part of the icons were restored. The renovated temple was officially opened on May 9, 2004 in the presence of a number of Bulgarian and Turkish officials. Recently the street, where the church rises, was renamed to Church St. Georgi Street.