06/06/2023
After the conquest of Istanbul, the traders and educated administrators of the Byzantines who left Istanbul returned to the city at the call of Ottoman Emperor Fatih Sultan Mehmet. Fatih, who issued a decree for the Orthodox Greeks who settled in Italy, Aegean Islands, and France to return to the city, stated in his decree that the Orthodox could educate in their own languages and worship freely in their places of worship.
The school established in Fener in 1454 with the agreement between Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Patriarch Gennadios was known as the Patriarchate Academy or Greek Great School for centuries.
In the Patriarchate Academy, where many translators serving in high positions of the Ottomans, as well as high religious officials, patriarchs, and lords were raised, subjects such as classical philology, literature, theology, ancient and contemporary philosophy were taught.
After 1861, the educational institution that turned into a high school giving classical education moved to its present building in 1881. New departments were added to the school built by Architect Dimadis in 1903 with the aim of training primary school teachers. After the proclamation of the Republic, it took the name Fener Greek Boys' High School.
The Fener Greek Boys' High School, the largest building after the Süleymaniye Mosque among the buildings on both sides of the Golden Horn, most of the materials used in the construction were brought from the city of Marseille in France. Architect Dimadis, who also graduated from Fener Greek High School, completed the school construction he started after the castles he made in Italy and Spain in 5 years.