St. Stepanos Church

The St. Stepanos Church (Armenian: Սուրբ Ստեփանոս եկեղեցի, romanized: Surb Stepanos yekeghetsi) was an Armenian church located in the Basmane district of the city of Smyrna (now İzmir), Turkey.

The front of the temple portico was spacious and the church gate had bronze door panels with a large reliefs, one of them depicting the protomartyr Saint Stephen.

[2] During the Great Fire of Smyrna, more than a thousand local Armenians, as well as a number of Greek, were barricaded in order to avoid atrocities committed by Turkish troops and irregulars.

The latter informed the local Catholic bishop who managed to take the initiative to transfer the civilians to the Levantine quarter of the city.

[1] However, on the way, atrocities by Turkish troops were not avoided, many of the civilians were beaten, while a number was sent to concentration camps.