Conversation with the President of the Ephorate Committee of Panagia Paramythia/ Vlach-Sarai

By Dr. Simeon Soltaridis

Lakis Vigas: "The church of Panagia Paramythia is more than just another Orthodox Church. It is a symbol of the integration of the Slavic peoples into the spiritual, social and artistic world of the Ecumenical Patriarchate"

As a continuation and completion of the publications about Vlach-Sarai comes the discussion with the President of the Vakufi and Official of the Great Church of Christ, Mr. Lakis Viga. His undivided and continuous interest in the church of Panagia Paramythia aims at the restoration of the church.

  But what were the steps taken so far? Mr. Vigas notes that "after many months of effort, our community, due to a binding clause that was in force since 1973, managed to obtain the property title of the church of Panagia Paramythia in 2010 and to register its name in the TAPU (land registry). . We should note that this Church is the only asset of our Foundation".

 The whole of the Community has for years begun a long and difficult struggle to recover and exploit many assets that had been seized. But the victory of the Community of Vlach-Sarai is special since with zero income and no other assets, it managed to transfer this historic Church to its name in the TAPU

 Mr. Vigas says meaningfully: "This is our destination, to support and strengthen our presence in Turkey. That is why we are building our Cultural Center in Galatas, supporting our schools in Imbros and looking for solutions for our other emblematic buildings, which adorn the city with their architecture and are points of reference for our identity".

 Mr. Lakis Vigas is optimistic and obtaining the title, as he tells us, was only the first step. The struggle for the restoration of Panagia Paramythia had just begun with the acquisition of the property title. Evidence that would help was immediately sought. Photographic material, historical data, material from the state archives, maps, records, testimonies, anything that could help form a complete image of the form and the architecture not only of the church,  but also of the buildings that were in the courtyard area. All the elements from the most important to the smallest detail have value so that a complete and comprehensive study is done for the restoration of the entire complex. Akylas Millas, Dimosthenis Paikopoulos and Dimitris Palavitsinis helped in this effort. To date, the studies and excavations by the Archaeological Museum of the City have been completed for the foundations of the church and the adjacent buildings, as well as the static study. The architectural study was completed by the offices of Hüseyin Başçetinçelik and Mimarlık Ofisi.

 Efforts have now moved to another level. Informing the public and highlighting the historicity as well as the necessity for the modern visibility and promotion of the church is the next goal. The Ecumenical Patriarch Mr. Bartholomew supports and is always next to the architectural committee and personally to its President. He honors with his presence every event that is organized and promotes every effort to promote and highlight the church of Panagia Paramythia, which is located at a pivotal point. Built in an area where, within 2-3 blocks, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Great School of the Genus, the Mouchlio (Court of the Theotokos Mouchlio), the Joachimio Virgin School, the Metochi of the Holy Sepulcher coexist, it is another piece in the historical area of Phanar.

 In the context of these efforts, Mr. Vigas informs us, in December 2016, an evening was organized at the Great School of the Genus, with the theme "The Virgin of the Fairytale - Vlach Sarai: Thoughts for the present and the future". The event was graced with the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarch Mr. Bartholomew and the Minister of Culture and Tourism Mr. Nabı Avcı.

 Also, the Board of Trustees is in collaboration with the Municipality of Fatih, to which Vlach-Sarai belongs, as the restoration and utilization of the church complex will help in the ongoing regeneration of the area and will be a cradle of culture and interfaith.

 For two years now, collaboration has been developed at an academic level and with Professor Alessandro Camiz of Özyeğin University, who is an architect of historical monuments dealing with urban planning and morphology as well as with the developed technologies applied during the restoration of monuments. Mr. Camiz and his fellow scientists from Özyeğin University and abroad show great interest in the development of the area and the Church, they organize conferences, digital tours, studies with the students, etc.  At the end of 2021, in collaboration with the same University, there was interest in a program of the American embassy, ​​the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, with the hope of a positive response so that at least a temporary roof could be built and the entrance and the corridors of the courtyard.

 The question that comes effortlessly every time in such a discussion is why should one more church be restored? Why is there a need for one more church in the city where every area and every neighborhood has its own historic church? And why in the Phanar, where the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Church of St. George, the Mouhli, the St. Nicholas of Tzimbali, the Metohi of the Holy Sepulcher, the Metohi of the Sinai Monastery, and St. Stephens of the Bulgarian church exceed the needs and the historical footprint of the area?

 Mr Vigas was clear. "Obviously one can think, but why should one more church be rebuilt, since there are so many decent ones and the congregation is limited, why spend so much money since the prospects of Hellenism in Turkey are limited? All these and other similar considerations are justified. But we here, the descendants of the Byzantine Rumi and the continuers of the Greek Orthodox heritage, experienced and continue to experience the ups and downs of history and political rivalries. But we never thought of discarding the legacy of our ancestors and allowing ourselves to be assimilated by the wider society. On the contrary, we have fought for survival and for the preservation of our identity and in recent years for the development of our historical communities by building bridges and opening channels of communication."

 "The church of Panagia Paramythia is more than just another orthodox church. It is a symbol of the integration of the Slavic peoples into the spiritual, social and artistic world of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Even today, the title Vlach-Sarai prevails over the name Panagia Paramythia. This shows that although five centuries have passed since its foundation, the identity of its founders has remained unchanged. The historical memory is kept alive and is a point of reference not only for the Greek Orthodox world but for the entire Orthodox community to this day."  And he continued "This relatively small church, whose history begins in the post-Byzantine period and reaches our days, has a lot to teach us. In its history one meets rulers,it hosted the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and important events of the Orthodox Church took place here, such as the attribution of the Patriarchal Act to the Church of Russia. It continued as a monastery and ended up in a parish church with its last vicar Father Konstantinos Paikopoulos. The fire of 1970;s interrupted its operation and gradually led to its abandonment and collapse."

Concluding he said "After 40 years, we started the efforts to reconstitute and rebuild this sacred space, the church and the buildings that existed in the courtyard. Although it is not easy for this frozen dream to become a new focus for Orthodoxy, a place for universal Hellenism, a new body where cultures will meet, the focus for young people who in recent years have discovered the neighborhood of the Phanar, and they come into contact with our culture and history. The Virgin of Vlach-Sarai seeks her future in the Queen of cities to continue giving her testimony in her eternal presence. We hope that with her candle burning, she will begin a new offering to civil society. With the multiple possibilities of use that can be created and the offer of hospitality in its cells, the courtyard of Panagia can once again become a meeting place of cultures and offering to all".

 Mr. Lakis Vigas wanted once again to express his warm thanks to Mr. Thanasis Laskaridis and his wife Mrs. Evi Lazou for their donation, with which all the studies and work were done until today. As well as to Mr. Takis and Petros Tavaniotis for their architectural contribution and support.

Closing this cycle of publications about the Virgin of Vlach-Sarai, we would like to express the wish and desire of all Roma to support the community financially and morally and to find the financial resources to make the dream of restoring this complex a reality so as to form an island of life, culture and creation in the emerging neighborhood of the Phanar.