Church of Saint Menas of Samatya

Church of Hagios Menas of Samatya Άγιος Μηνάς
The church viewed from east. The Martyrion can be accessed through the gas station in foreground
Church of Hagios Menas of Samatya Άγιος Μηνάς
41°00′02″N 28°55′55″E / 41.000417°N 28.931897°E / 41.000417; 28.931897Coordinates: 41°00′02″N 28°55′55″E / 41.000417°N 28.931897°E / 41.000417; 28.931897
Location	Samatya, Istanbul
Country	Turkey
Denomination	Greek Orthodox
History
Founder(s)	Helena
Dedication	Saints Karpos and Papylos
Cult(s) present	St. Menas
Architecture
Architect(s)	Konstantis Yolasığmazis
Groundbreaking	1833
Completed	1833

Saint Menas (Greek: Ἄγιος Μηνάς , pr. Ágios Minás; Turkish: Ayios Minas Kilisesi) is a Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul.

The edifice was built in 1833 near an early Christian Martyrion of the fourth or fifth century, possibly dedicated to the saints Carpus and Papylus (Greek: Μονὴ τῶν ἁγίων Κάρπου καὶ Παπὺλου, Monì ton Agíon Kárpou kai Papýlou ), and on the site of an ancient church dedicated to Hagios Polykarpos. The modern church has the same dedication as a nearby water source (Greek: Hagiásma, Turkish: Ayazma).

The church is located in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih, in the neighbourhood of Kocamustafapaşa (historically Samatya), on Bestekar Hakkı Sokak. It lies inside the walled city, in an elevated position a short distance from the shore of the Sea of Marmara. The building is protected by a high wall. The Martyrion is located under the church, on İmrahor İlyasbey Caddesi, and currently houses an iron workshop and a car wash shop. It is in a dilapidated state. Opposite to the Martyrion there is a spring also dedicated to Saint Menas.

According to the Fathers of the Church, in the fourth century Empress Helena, mother of Constantine I, authorized construction of a martyrion and a monastery dedicated to the Saints Karpos and Papylos at the foot of the steep southwestern face of the Xeropholos (part of the seventh hill of Constantinople and at that time, before the construction of the Theodosian Wall, still outside the walls of the city). Karpos and Papylos had been martyred together with the Saints Agathodorus and Agathonice in Pergamon under Decius in 251. The edifice was said to have the same plan as the one erected on the sepulcher of Christ in Jerusalem, and to be adorned with marble. Although the Helena's involvement is far from certain, and her endowment can be surely excluded, the presence of several martyria in the area is attested. Moreover, the extant round structure under the modern church stems from the fourth or fifth century and has the typical form of a martyrion. A nunnery was built here at a later date during the Byzantine Age, but at any case before the tenth century. Indeed, at that time and at least until the twelfth century there are attestations to the existence of a female monastery dedicated to the Saints Karpos and Papylos in the vicinity of the Helenianai Palace.