TURKEY REOPENS ARMENIAN CHURCH

United Press International
March 30 2007

Armenian officials came to Turkey for a ceremony marking the renovation
of an 11-century-old church.

Turkey and Armenia do not have diplomatic relations. But the reopening
of the church as a museum is perceived as a fence-mending gesture by
the Turkish government, the BBC reports.

Patriarch Mesrob II, who heads the Armenian Orthodox Church in Turkey,
said the government could improve relations by allowing religious
services to be held in the church at least once a year.

"If our government approves, it will contribute to peace between
two communities who have not been able to come together for years,"
he said.

The government spent $1.5 million on the Church of Surp Khach, or
Holy Cross, on Akdamar Island in Lake Van. The building, dating from
around A.D. 920, is considered one of the finest surviving Armenian
monuments in Turkey.

Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjyan headed an Armenian delegation
of about 20 who attended the ceremony.