The conversion of the historic Orphanage of Prigipou into a hotel, with the aim of developing it and preventing its further collapse, was announced by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, during his speech at the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the history of the historic institution, which took place on Friday 22 May at the Museum of Prigipou.
The event was attended by ecclesiastical, local government and scientific institutions, as well as residents of Prigipou and Istanbul, focusing on the historical and cultural significance of the orphanage. The exhibition, hosted at the Prigipou Museum, was organized by the Islands Foundation with the assistance of historians, researchers and representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Participants, among others, were Metropolitan Demetrios Demetrios of the Old Princes Islands, scientists and citizens, while greetings were given by the Mayor of the Princes Islands Ali Ercan Akpolat and the Lord M. Papal Guard of the M.T.H.E. Panteleimon Vigas, who has been working for many years on the case of the Orphanage.
The speech of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
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The Ecumenical Patriarch delivered a speech in Greek and Turkish, referring to the history, importance and contribution of the Orphanage of Prigipou, as well as the difficulties that still exist for the rescue of the iconic wooden building, which faces serious problems of stability and extensive deterioration.
As he said, the Patriarchate has made repeated efforts to find the necessary financial resources to save the historic structure, without success, as the very high cost of restoration remains a major obstacle, while the building has already suffered collapses in many places.
In his speech he noted:
“Tonight on this spring evening, I stand among the Prigipanians, the islanders, our fellow citizens, together with our dear brother Saint Prigiponians, the Lord Mayor and all of you elected officials present and sharing a common interest, a love, an affection, an affection for this imposing building of our orphanage, which has held in its arms so many orphaned children of the community for many decades. We mourn the late Eleni Zarifi, who bought it and offered it to the Church to become an orphanage. We remember with gratitude all the directors and teachers who protected and educated the children of the expatriate community on the Hill of Christ,” the Ecumenical Patriarch first noted and added:
“When I was a student at Halki, many times on Sunday afternoons, after Mass and lunch, the curator of the School, whoever he was, would bring all of us together, the students of Halki, we would go up to the Orphanage, hang out with the orphaned children, play ball with them, and I have sweet memories of those beautiful years. Many times we also went to St. Spyridon in Halki or to Antigone and First. In the fall, when schools opened, we would take a walk and eat kumara.”
“It wasn’t an easy decision, especially from an emotional point of view”
Bartholomeos stressed that the decision to convert the Orphanage into a hotel was not an easy one, but was deemed necessary due to the inability to find the necessary funds to restore the building.
“The decision to convert the Orphanage into a hotel was not an easy one – but all other efforts collapsed and it would have become one with the land,” he said.
At another point he thanked those who contributed to the rescue efforts, saying:
“I thank from the bottom of my heart, of course, all our Turkish friends who contributed to the effort to highlight and not to forget our orphanage, but from the Diaspora, especially Lord Viga, who in recent years has tried very hard to secure all the necessary permits… to prepare what we finally ended up doing as a Church, as a Holy and Holy Synod: that is to convert the Orphanage building into a lucrative hotel.”
The Patriarch explained that initially the prospect of creating international centres for interfaith dialogue and ecological studies had been considered, but the efforts did not come to fruition due to the high cost.
“It was not an easy decision, especially from an emotional point of view, but it was an imperative decision before the building became one with the land,” he said.
Collaboration for restoration and redevelopment
As he said, the project will be implemented by a Turkish company in cooperation with a Greek company, which, he noted, has a symbolic character of cooperation and friendship between Greece and Turkey.
The event concluded with the Ecumenical Patriarch’s tour of the exhibition, where he was informed about the material presented on the history and importance of the Prigipou Orphanage.
