Following his visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Pope Leo XIV traveled approximately 15.7 kilometers to the St. Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church, where he held a private meeting with leaders of various Christian churches and denominations.
This church, located in the Yeşilköy district on the European side of Istanbul, is a Syriac Orthodox church inaugurated in 2023. It is the first—and possibly the only—church to be built in Turkey since the founding of the republic. Dedicated to Saint Ephrem the Syrian, its construction spanned a decade, with seven years delayed due to administrative issues. Its opening was further postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in 2023.