Saint Paul's Church is a former church in Tarsus,

Mersin Province Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of f ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Tarsus and the churches

Tarsus, in the

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

of the antiquity, in what is now southern Turkey, was an important city during both ancient and medieval ages. The tombs of Daniel of the Bible, and the

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Al-Ma'mun (786–833), are both in Tarsus.

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

was a resident of Tarsus. He was born and lived in Tarsus as a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

named Saul and, after converting, made a number of missionary journeys ending in his arrest and beheading by the Roman Emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

in AD 64 or 67 on the 29th of June. After Paul's death, Tarsus continued as an important city of the area. It became part of the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

, the Abbasid Empire, the

Seljuk Empire The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to ...

, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, the

Ramadanids The Ramadanid Emirate (Modern Turkish: ''Ramazanoğulları Beyliği'') was an autonomous administration and a ''de facto'' independent emirate that existed from 1352 to 1608 in Cilicia, taking over the rule of the region from the Armenian Kingdo ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. It is not known if there were any churches established by Paul in Tarsus, but in 1704, P. Lucas wrote that there was a Romanesque church which had been built by Paul. V. Langlois visited Tarsus in 1851 and confirmed this. In his words, thick walls that resembled the Roman style, windows that are narrower outside than inside, and thick columns are noticeable, but no other records exist to substantiate this claim. Medieval Mersin's most important Christian sanctuary was the Armenian cathedral of Hagia Sophia in which Leon I of the House of

Rubenid The Rubenids ( hy, Ռուբինեաններ) or Roupenids were an Armenian dynasty who dominated parts of Cilicia, and who established the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. The dynasty takes its name from its founder, the Armenian prince Ruben I. The ...

was crowned by Konrad Von Wittelsbach, the Archbishop of Mainz and the representative of

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, as the king of the Cilician Kingdom of Armenia in 1198. The Holy Roman Emperor,

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

, drowned in Saleph (now called Göksu) river on 10 June 1190, his heart and inner organs might be buried in the Saint Paul's Church.

Saint Paul Church

According to tradition the building date of the Saint Paul Church is 1102, but the present structure, a domeless basilica, was built (or rebuilt) much later, in 1862. The entrance to its grounds is via an ornate gateway. The total area of the church building is 460 m². The longer dimension of the building consists of face stone walls and blind vaults. The interior measures . In the northeast corner stands an elevated belfry. The sides of the central nave window had been decorated by angels and landscape depictions. On the ceiling there are frescos of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

in the middle, and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John at the two sides.

Restoration

The church has been put under protection since 1993 and a restoration work has been carried on during 1998-2000 period. It is now under the protection of the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

and officially known as Monumental Museum. Although the church is open to religious services, because of the lack of community, regular services are not held; but ceremonies are held for groups of pilgrims. During Saint Pavlos year between 29 June 2008 and 29 June 2009, there was a number of special ceremonies and the closing ceremony of the year was held in Saint Paul's Church in Tarsus. The church and its surroundings are on the UN World Heritage Tentative List.Unesco list
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References

External links

Pictures of this church
{{coord, 36, 54, 51, N, 34, 53, 52, E, region:TR-33_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Mersin Province Pauline churches Greek Orthodox churches in Turkey Former churches in Turkey Music venues in Turkey Tourist attractions in Mersin Province History of Mersin Province Tarsus, Mersin World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey