Φως Φαναρίου
Στο πλαίσιο της επίσκεψης του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου Βαρθολομαίου στο Πριγκηπάτο του Μονακό, παρετέθη επίσημο δείπνο προς τιμήν του Πατριάρχου, από τους Άρχοντες της Μεγάλης του Χριστού Εκκλησίας στο Μονακό, με αφορμή και την επέτειο των 32 χρόνων από την εκλογή του Παναγιωτάτου στον Οικουμενικό Θρόνο.
Κατά την διάρκεια του δείπνου μίλησε στους παρισταμένους ο Άρχων Μ. Χαρτοφύλαξ Λάκης Βίγκας, υπεύθυνος της Επιτροπής για την αποκατάσταση του ιστορικού Ορφανοτροφείου της Πριγκήπου, αναλύοντας τα σχέδια και την προοπτική του έργου. Διένειμε, μάλιστα, και σχετικό ενημερωτικό υλικό.
Οι Άρχοντες υποσχέθηκαν ότι θα στηρίξουν με κάθε τρόπο την πρώτη φάση του προγράμματος της αναστήλωσης.
Παραθέτουμε στη συνέχεια την ομιλία του Άρχοντος κ. Λάκη Βίγκα, μαζί με το ενημερωτικό υλικό, καθώς και ένα βίντεο από την πορεία των εργασιών προς την έναρξη της αποκατάστασης στο Ορφανοτροφείο της Πριγκήπου.
Your All Holiness,
Eminences, Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my friend, Honorable Archon and Consul General of Greece in Monaco Mr. Petros Mahas for his support and encouragement by inviting me to this very special occasion to the dinner in honor of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop of Constantinople and its historical Greek Community which I am a proud member of.
We are gathered here to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the election of our Ecumenical Patriarch to the first see of the Orthodoxy which is blessed and glorified with the strong and unwavering leadership of His All Holiness. He is working tirelessly and travelling all over the world in order to accomplish His historic mission which is love, respect and dialogue within all kind of human being, protection of the nature and creation of a united and sustainable future for our local Rum/Romeiki koinotita, a community which is quite vulnerable and tiny in numbers due to the tough years it has overcome during the 20th century which traumatized our people.
Our Greek culture and emblematic edifices are two main elements we need to protect and promote in ıstanbul. A city where our community has flourished in the past and created extraordinary values in diplomacy, medicine, entrepreneurship, architecture, gastronomy, music and so many others. Today, with a young and vibrant population of 20 million, it is within our responsibility to safeguard our historical past which is a part of İstanbul’s legacy. We need to keep it alive by transforming into new models of sharing.
Tonight, I am going to speak about one of the most symbolic buildings of our Rum community. A building, not only important for the Greeks and the Turks, but alao for the whole world: The Greek Orphanage.
The Greek Orphanage complex is located in Büyükada (Prinkipo), one of Princes’ Islands in the Marmara Sea, situated at the top of the Hristos Hill.
Ιt is the landmark of the area and it is still one of the “lieux de memoires” sites of Istanbul.
The complex consists of the main Orphanage and the Secondary School building.
The main 5 and 6 storey-building, with more than 20.000 m2 of total floor space, ~ 100m long 18-32m wide and maximum height ~ 24m.
It contains 206 large rooms, a magnificent hall, a library, a primary school and vocational workshops, a large dining room, spacious kitchens (still keeping some rare large-scale ancient equipment) and a remarkable theatre hall.
It should be stressed, that it is thought to be the largest wooden construction in Europe and the second largest in the world.
It has been designed and built at the end of 19th century by the prominent architect, Alexandre Vallaury, as a luxury hotel and casino but it never got permission from the Sultan. It was sold in 1903 exactly 120 years ago! and bought by Eleni Zarifi the philanthropist wife of a prominent Greek banker, who donated it to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, with the condition that it would be operated as an orphanage. It sheltered approximately 5700 orphans which brings an important social and spiritual value to the history of the building, becoming a symbol of collective memory and culture for the people of Istanbul and Princes Islands, adding high intangible values too. It was closed in 1964 and abandoned thereafter, leading to its current state of extensive serious risk of collapse. But the Patriarchate did not forget it! After long legal disputes, in 2010 the European Court of Human Rights ruled the deeds of the Site, belonged to the Patriarchate.
Since then, we initiated a plan to reutilize and restore it, converting it into an International Centre for Environmental Protection and for hosting continuous Interreligious Dialogue activities, among with other complementary uses, that have to be discussed and studied with a proper Business Plan, in order to assess the extent to which the final product would be sustainable and operational in the future.
Due to the location on the hilltop, the structures are exposed to extreme weather conditions for about 63 years without any protection. Due to its recognized value as one of the most important timber buildings of the world, in 2012, the Orphanage was included in the World Monuments Watch list and in 2018 was listed among the 7 Most Endangered heritage sites in Europe by Europa Nostra. UNESCO through ICOMOS has several times expressed its concern for its protection as well as several experts from Turkey and Greece.
It is not necessary to be an expert to realise at first sight, that there is an immediate danger and risk of partial or total collapse. It can happen any moment, today, tomorrow!
The degradation is faster and faster! In 2018 there were at the main entrance 4 columns, in 2021 three and in 2023 one that supports 3 storeys and a roof.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, as the owner of the building, recognizing all the above, has activated the procedures for immediate safety measures in order to protect, and stop the serious risk of collapse and further degradation of the building, as the first step for its restoration in the future. A Scientific committee of Greek and Turkish experts and academics under my supervision, has been established in order to organize the necessary actions in those directions. A web site has been designed. I strongly encourage you to visit it.
The Mayor and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality with BIMTAS undertook the implementation of the 3d scanning of the whole complex, and prepare the survey drawings and the necessary documentation for the file submission to the Ministry of Culture authorities in order to get the permission for the immediate safety measures and the construction of a self-supporting scaffolding that will support and cover the whole building.
CAN THIS TIMBER BUILDING BE SAVED AND RESTORED?
An important part can be saved and restored, because nowadays we have the knowledge of the techniques and most importantly, there is the willingness to do it. Although silent, it carries so many voices of the past so many heritage values, that it should not be left orphan and abandoned.
It is a call! We need everybody’s help in raising awareness as well as raising the necessary funding for the immediate safety measures. Otherwise, any restoration project is an outopia, since there will be no building.
Ending my words, I would like to thank all the people that supported us in this cause, including academics, architects, volunteers, journalists, cultural foundation members and authorities from all over Turkey as well as from Greece. The commitment of so many people from these two different cultures and background in helping our efforts for regenerating this abandoned building is truly remarkable and a sight that gives me desire and ambition for this important mission that we have embraced over 10 years ago.
The recovery and transformation of this monumental building will be a strong message of creating in solidarity.
Dear Participants,
Thank you all for paying attention to this cultural heritage story of the Pringipos Greek Orphanage and please remember our responsibility to keep memories and values of the past alive and hand them over to the future generations which are facing so different challenges of identity and hopes.
Many thanks to all the hosts of today’s dinner and God save our Patriarch!
Laki Vingas/ Project Coordinator
Hermitage Hotel-Monaco
October 19th,2023
