The Russian Orthodox Church has urged Istanbul to preserve Christian churches, RIA Novosti cites Igor Yakimchuk, head of the PR section for inter-Orthodox relations of the Moscow Patriarchy.
The church of Prophet Ilia is planned for demolition in the Karakoy District of Istanbul. Karakoy is an area inhabited by Russian natives and has 3 churches.
The churches belong to the Svyato-Pantelemeyno, Andreyevsky and Ilyinsky monasteries and are under control of the Constantinople Patriarchy.
Tens of thousands of Orthodox Christians live in Istanbul and need more churches.
