St Stephanos Church, Keslik Monastery, Cappadocia

St Stephanos Church is one of two churches in the Keslik Monastery, located in Cappadocia (central Turkey). This monastery is not that well known, it is not one of the most famous monasteries in the area; however, it does maintain an Orthodox Cappadocian beauty and mystery, evident in all the Churches and monasteries in Cappadocia.

In St Stephanos Church one may see the dominance of the cross, a theme prevalent in most churches in this area. The colours used are not widely used today in the Orthodox Churches (such as the colour yellow, instead of gold, which is used today), showing a unique iconographic tradition and understanding of a different place and a different era.

Another feature, which is alien to many Orthodox countries and not practiced in our current epoch, is the existence of graves within the church itself. This is practiced in the West. However, the east did not widely practice this. In Cappadocia, however, it is the case, prevailing in most monastic communities. This shows that the local Church was the centre of a person’s life and death.