ARMENIAN HOLY CROSS CHURCH OPENS IN TURKEY

ARMENPRESS
Mar 29 2007

VAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS: An Armenian delegation of architects,
engineers, archaeologists and journalists, headed by deputy culture
minister Gagik Gyurjyan was present today at the official reopening
of a medieval Armenian Church of Holy Cross on Akhtamar Island in
Lake Van in Eastern Turkey.

The church was built between 915 and 921 during the reign of Armenian
King Gagik I of Vaspurakan and was one of the most important religious
buildings in the region that was the heartland of Armenian culture.

The Church of Holy Cross with sandstone walls and dome, adorned with
carvings of Jesus Christ and David and Goliath, is considered one
of the greatest examples of Armenian architecture of the period, and
an inspiration for the Gothic style that later developed in Europe,
according to the New York-based Landmarks Foundation, which has
advised on the church’s restoration.

It was abandoned since the slaughter of the country’s Armenian
community almost a century ago.

Turkish authorities spent $1.9 million on its restoration in a
hope that this move may help smooth relations with the U.S. and the
European Union.

After reopening the Holy Cross will be a museum and in all likelihood
will have no cross on its dome, as demanded by Armenian religious
leaders, who want it to serve for the Armenian community of the
country.

The ceremony was attended by Turkish culture minister Atilla Koc,
Patriarch Mesrob II, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Orthodox
community in Turkey and hundreds of people from the Turkish Armenian
community.

Catholicos Karekin II, the Armenian Supreme Patriarch, rejected a
Turkish invitation to attend the ceremony because the church will
operate only as a museum.

"This action of the Turkish authorities against the pious Christian
beliefs and emotions of the Armenian people cannot be perceived as
a positive step on the path of bringing the two nations closer,"
Karekin II said in a statement.

The Armenian Catholicos of Cilica, Aram I, joined Karekin II saying
since Turkey refuses to recognize the Armenian genocide he will not
attend the ceremony.

Earlier this month, Patriarch Mesrob I sent a written request to the
culture and tourism ministry of Turkey asking that a cross, prepared
by the Armenian Patriarchate itself, be placed on the steeple of the
Holy Cross. A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman, Levent Bilman,
was quoted by Turkish news agencies as saying that this issue is
being studied by foreign ministry and they await its decision.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress