The Balyans were a family of Armenian-Ottoman architects who, over three generations, were responsible for a great number of varied building projects in 19th century Istanbul. Their building works for the Armenian Community will form the focus of this paper, in particular the churches that they rebuilt in stone. Until the 19th century, new churches were not allowed to be built for the Christian communities under Ottoman rule; the pre-existing ones could simply be renovated. The process of renovating a church required the submission of a request or petition and would be followed by a long process of checks presided over by the Kadi and the Chief Imperial Architect. The document authorizing the renovation would clearly state that the ‘original style’ of the church should be followed and that its dimensions should not exceed the present ones, recorded by the apprentices of the chief architect. If a church was renovated without permission, it would be pulled down. In the early 19th century, during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II and then continuing under Abdulmecid, churches were rebuilt in large numbers in stone, many of which were financed and/or carried out by the Balyan family. The churches were, in the main, originally wooden and so their being rebuilt in stone provides an obvious opportunity to exclaim the growing acceptance of minorities by the state and their rights being increased. However the re-building of these churches does not just show the changing position of the Armenian community with regards to the Ottoman State- and the role of the schism between the Armenian Catholics and Protestants in the time of Mahmud II as studied by Kemal Beydilli, or the rise in the popularity of Armenian officials in response to the Greek Rebellion as Ilber Ortayli has stated. The study of specific case studies of the rebuilding and building of churches through their archival documentation and through the study of the features of their architecture and decoration can shed light on the deeper reality of the Armenian Community in the 19th Century and the role of the Balyan family within that. Examples of the architecture and decoration diverging from the ‘original style’ that the official document of permission stipulated show the increased self-expression of the community but also shed light on the greater professional operations of the Balyan family at this time.