THE CROSS, BELLS AND BELL TOWERS: NORMS AND LIMITS OF PUBLIC RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM FOR CHRISTIANS IN THE LATE OTTOMAN BALKANS
Études balkaniques (Sofia) 2026, N 1, pp. 99-128
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62761/645.EB.LXII1.04
Fatma Sel TURHAN 
Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
Abstract: This study focuses on the main symbols of Christian imagery, namely the cross, bells and bell towers, and investigates how regulations promising equality to Christian subjects in the late Ottoman period affected the visibility of Christian symbols in the Balkan region. Taking the Reform Edict of 1856 as a turning point, the study first focuses on the cross, examining the traditional approach and the changes in terms of the visibility of the cross after the Reform Edict. Then, focusing on bells and bell towers, the study explores the extent to which the visibility of these symbols was permitted until 1856 and the increasing demands for the hanging of bells and the construction of bell towers from 1856 onwards, together with the state’s regulations on these symbols. Finally, the study analyzes in detail what the 1886 regulation on bells and bell towers brought and how it was implemented. The study has shown that, although the Tanzimat reforms encouraged Christian subjects to demand greater symbolic visibility, this only gained limited legal grounding after the 1856 Reform Edict. The state preferred to manage such symbols cautiously and make adjustments according to the situation in order to prevent any internal instability.
Keywords: Christian symbols, Ottoman Empire, cross, bells, bell towers