Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God Valinou

Following the sea-walls along the shore of the Golden Horn, before reaching the Church of Saint Demetrios Xyloportas one arrives at the Church of the Mother of God Valinou.
Built and rebuilt like many others after the great fires which devastated the district, it is in an abject condition today. Externally the building is in urgent need of conservation, while the interior is slowly but steadily being destroyed by damp.
The attribute Balinou takes one back lo Magister Pavlinos who held office under Theodosios fl. nicknamed 'the Small' (409-450).
The church, whose finances were in a pitiful state, was on the point of being sold when Meletios Pigas, Patriarch of Alexandria, rescued it by settling its debts in 1597. Later it came under the protection of the rulers of Wallachia. Nonetheless, its economic well-being, though at one time it did take a turn for the better, can never have been on a sound footing, for Gedeon notes that "the church treasury gave meagre sums to works of public benefit".
There is no mention το be found of a school, he continues, and attributes this to the likelihood of the children of the parish attending classes at the adjacent school of Saint Demetrios at Xyloporta.

Ismini Kapandai
Churches in Constantinople
Nikos Ghinis – Constantinos Stratos