Kızıl Kilise, the Red Church, also known as Sivrihisar Kızıl Kilise to distinguish it from other structures called Kızıl Kilise, is a partially ruined sixth-century church in the

Güzelyurt Güzelyurt, formerly Gelveri (Cappadocian Greek: Καρβάλη), is a town and district of Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at a distance of from the city of Aksaray. According to 2000 census, population of the distric ...

district of

Aksaray Province Aksaray Province ( tr, ) is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Konya along the west and south, Niğde to the southeast, Nevşehir to the east, and Kırşehir to the north. It covers an area of . The provincial capital is t ...

, Turkey. The church takes its name from the red stone used to build it. The building has been listed in the

World Monuments Watch World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and traini ...

since 2008.

Background

Probably erected in the sixth century during the reign of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

(r. 527–565), the edifice is one of the oldest Christian shrines of the

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

region and one of the oldest churches known to have a cupola on a drum with windows that illuminate the interior. The church was possibly dedicated to Saint

Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...

, one of the fathers of the Cappadocian church. According to some sources the natives called it ''

Saint Panteleimon Saint Pantaleon ( el, Παντελεήμων, russian: Пантелеи́мон, translit=Panteleímon; "all-compassionate"), counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Hea ...

Monastery'' (Μοναστήριον του Αγίου Παντελεήμονος). In central and eastern Cappadocia, 5th and 6th-century churches with cross-shaped plans were standard. Kızıl Kilise follows this plan form, using local volcanic stones cut into regular blocks by highly skilled workers. Architecturally, the most characteristic element of the church is its central dome, erected above an

octagonal In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

. Eight windows pierce the drum, flooding the nave with light. The only later addition to the building is the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

; otherwise the church, albeit damaged, still retains its original form. The presence of huge

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

s finished off using a highly professional technique hints to a usage as an imperial or burial chapel. Pilgrims traversing Anatolia on the way to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

along an ancient route could readily reach the church.

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly ...

(1868–1926), the British archaeologist and writer, photographed and measured Kızıl Kilise in 1907.

Reconstruction activities

In 2011 a program of reconstruction work began at the church. International fundraising raised 500,000 to finance the work. İsmet Ağaryılmaz, a retired professor who previously taught restoration techniques at

Yıldız Technical University Yıldız Technical University ( Tr. ''Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi'', often simply referred to as YTU or Yıldız) is a prominent technical university dedicated to engineering and natural sciences as well as social sciences recently, and is one ...

, directed the project.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kizil Kilise Byzantine churches in Cappadocia Destroyed churches in Turkey History of Aksaray Province Buildings and structures in Aksaray Province Historic sites in Turkey Tourist attractions in Aksaray Province 6th-century churches