POLITICS PLAY LEADING ROLE AT BLESSING OF ARMENIAN CHURCH

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 8 2009
Turkey

At the benediction of Kayseri’s historic church politics were on the
leading role. Officiating the ceremony, on behalf of Turkish Armenian
Patriarchate, Archishop Aram AteÅ~_yan says Turkish Armenians should
be considered as something seperate when the topic is convergence
between Turkey and Armenia. ‘The church was renovated by the community
not by the state’ Politics played a leading role at the benediction
of Kayseri’s Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator.

Archishop Aram AteÅ~_yan, who was officiating at the ceremony on
behalf of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, started his blessings
in Armenian and continued in Turkish. At the benediction, witnessed
by members of the international and local media, AteÅ~_yan also
delivered a speech that touched on several important issues for the
Turkish-Armenian community.

"Turkish-Armenians should be considered a separate group when the
topic is the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

These topics are different from each other," AteÅ~_yan said, adding
that Turkish Armenians are not bounded by Turkey’s relations with the
Armenian diaspora or Armenia itself. "We don’t want to be included
in the process because we are children of this country."

Calling out to the packed community inside the church, many of whom
were Turkish-Armenians from Istanbul, AteÅ~_yan continued his speech:
"You, the Istanbul Armenians, will continue to be loyal to this
country. As citizens of this country, you must ask for support from
the state in solving your problems."

AteÅ~_yan expressed regret about a story titled "This is the
difference," which was published in the daily Hurriyet last Monday.

"The story stated that our church was renovated by the state and that
it was only then opened for worship. They were trying to relate the
restoration to the relations between Armenia and Turkey, when in fact
the church was restored with the financial support of the community.

Moreover, it was never closed to religious services.

"The community doesn’t ask for support from the government because
they are concerned that churches might be renovated into museums, as
in the case of Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island in Lake Van,"
he said. "That’s why they organized the renovation and financed it."

Governor, mayor absent

The Turkish-Armenian community members from Istanbul arrived in Kayseri
on Oct. 7 in a group of roughly 300. Four buses arrived in Kayseri,
one of which was organized by Istanbul’s Bakırköy municipality. The
community did not answer questions from members of the press, citing
the long journey from Istanbul. Kayseri Gov. Mevlut Bilici and
Mayor Mehmet Ozhaseki did not attend either Saturday’s benediction
or Sunday’s services, although they were invited by the community
administration. The municipality’s press officer declined to answer
the Daily News’ questions.

But there were some politicians in attendance at the ceremonies. A
Kayseri deputy from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP,
Å~^efki Kutluoglu, was among them. After a one-hour meeting with the
administration board of the church, Kutluoglu answered some questions,
saying that his family was from Kayseri and that he remembered how
peaceful the atmosphere was in the town when he was a child.

‘Community restored the church’

Historically, the central Anatolian town of Kayseri was home to
numerous churches and monasteries. The last church left standing in
the city is the Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator. Representing
the administrative board of the church, Arsen AÅ~_ık also reacted
to last Monday’s reports concerning the restoration of the church.

"Most of the financial support came from Istanbul Armenians, who
struggled a great deal to pool together money for the restoration,"
AÅ~_ık said, adding that he thinks the public confuses the church in
Kayseri with the Church of the Holy Cross. "First of all, the public
should know that St. Gregory the Illuminator wasn’t an abandoned
or destroyed church. And second of all, the state did not help with
the restoration."

The restorations of the two churches are not alike. The Church of the
Holy Cross on Akdamar Island was restored in 2007 by then-Culture
Minister Atilla Koc. Relations were strained between Turkey,
Turkish-Armenians and the Armenian diaspora when the church was
restored and opened as a museum without placing a cross atop its dome.

But current Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay announced that the
cross would be replaced and the building would be opened shortly for
religious services.

Church managed from Istanbul

There is one person currently living in Kayseri as a representative
of the Armenian community. The church itself is managed by Istanbul
Armenians who used to live in Kayseri.

The members instigated a legal process to transfer management of the
church to Istanbul, after they realized there was no community left
in Kayseri.

The Istanbul community identified a loophole in the law, first proving
there weren’t any members of the community left in Kayseri and then
stating that the church could be managed by a selected council. The
result was undertaken on behalf of the community. Now the council
consists of three members and four associate members.

"The administrative board is responsible for everything from the
priest’s wages to the money spent for the restoration," AÅ~_ık
said. He served for the church as a board member for many years and
is one of the community members with extensive information on the
church’s history. AÅ~_ık claimed that the bell was stolen and was
traced by the community.

"After many years, it was determined that the bell is in Argaeus
[Erciyes Dagı]. People claim that it was there until 1983, but now
no one really knows where it is," he said.

BOX

Last churches in Anatolia

The Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator is one of the last two
Armenian churches in Anatolia that have a foundation looking after its
welfare. The other one is in Hatay’s Samanlıdag district. The church
has been open since 1191. Built of a special stone named "kevenk,"
the church draws attention with its design and craftsmanship.