Fener Patriarchal Church is located in the Phanar (Fener) neighborhood in the Fatih district of Istanbul. This is an old lighthouse area from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods and means “lighthouse” in Greek. The Great National School was established here in 1454 and was supported by the prominent Phanariots.

Today’s St. George’s Church was formerly used as a small chapel of an Orthodox monastery. At the end of the 16th century, during the rule of Patriarch Matthew II, it became the center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It began to serve as a community of monks there.

Fener is considered the center of the Orthodox Church, and monks here balance the world and divine love. The site of the Ecumenical Patriarchate still hosts a monastic community today under the spiritual guidance of the Ecumenical Patriarch.