Worship and Liturgy in the Greek Orthodox Community of Constantinople/Istanbul in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

This paper explores the certain cultural, social, and aesthetic discourses that casted criticism upon the present church services, and more particularly the church choirs, in the Greek community of Istanbul in the second half of the nineteenth century. It focuses on a specific contemporary text on the condition of the Greek Orthodox churches, which was published by a Stambuliote Greek journalist in 1860. Taking this text as a starting point, the paper aims at opening a broader debate on the relationship of the middle classes to religion, and the status of religious art and its practitioners in the nineteenth century. The paper also touches upon the role of musical heritage in the assertion of a historic and cultural identity in the case of the Greek Orthodox community of Istanbul, and explores the relationships between ritual/music and the experience of the community.