"Let's preserve the iron church" 

The unique iron church "St.Stephen" in Istanbul visibly gets old and the rust progressively frets the metal. Located near the sea, under the influence of the humidity the church gradually erodes. Its condition worsens each day and the day when it can turn into a heap of old iron is not far.  

The church needs to be restored urgently by specialists if we want to preserve it as a monument of the Bulgarian spirit and as a masterpiece of the church architecture. 

If you don’t want "St.Stephen" iron church to fall down, join the efforts for restoration of the church by donating for "Let’s save the iron church" campaign. For the complete restoration of "St.Stephen" 1,000,000 euro is needed. The sum is enormous and for its raising are mobilized the state, the business as well as everybody who cares for preservation of this holy place. 

Since the beginning of the fundraising campaign in June 2005 corporate and individual donors have donated a total of 19,410 Bulgarian leva, 103,000 U.S. dollars и 970 euro for the church. Apart from that through Zaedno.bg a total of 195 leva have been raised.  

Part of the raised funds have been used for: 

- 6,000 euro were earmarked for installation of a safety system 

- 37,000 euro were earmarked for repair of the church roof  

- 500 leva were earmarked for post-cards printing  

The repair and reconstruction of the church must be complied with its unique characteristics and currently consultations with specialists are carried out regarding the choice of the most appropriate technology for stopping of the erosion and strengthening of the walls. 

Why to donate? 

Bulgarian iron church "St.Stephen" in Istanbul is one of the few iron churches in the orthodox world and that fact makes it an extremely important architectural monument for the world cultural heritage as a whole.  

In the yard of the church are buried some of the leaders of the struggle for national church of Bulgaria – bishop Ilarion Makriopolski, Avksenij Veleshki and Paisii Plovdivski. 

The church named after Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen is one of the most significant monuments of Bulgarian orthodox nation as it symbolizes the victory over the foreign language in the religious chants. 

Let us not stay indifferent to the fate of such a holy place for all Bulgarians – the Bulgarian Orthodox Church "St.Stephen" in Istanbul!  

Help the preservation of "St.Stephen" church! Donate through Zaedno.bg! 

With the funds, donated by you St. Stephen Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Tsarigrad Foundation will finance the repair of the iron construction of the church.