Before the War: Orthodox Christians in Anatolia, 1880s–1914

Orthodox Christians in Anatolia engaged in a widespread effort to establish churches, schools, and cultural associations in the late Ottoman period. This effort lasted roughly from the 1880s until the Great War, marking these few decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a period of intense institutionalization. This article historicizes the Orthodox Christian presence in Anatolia by exploring the moment of emergence of modern institutions, which would later provide our most direct and visual knowledge (real or remembered) of Orthodox Christian communities in the Ottoman Empire. Focusing on a diverse range of local, imperial and international actors in provincial space in western Anatolia, the study delineates the contexts and processes of institutionalization. It shows a modern community in the making, and demonstrates how Orthodox Christians consolidated themselves before being forced to leave as a result of the Greek-Turkish War of 1919–22 and the ensuing population exchange.