ERTUGRUL GUNAY: ARMENIAN CHURCH AT AKHTAMAR ISLAND WON’T BE TOPPED WITH CROSS

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.01.2010 17:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Church of Holy Cross at Akhtamar Island
won’t be open for liturgies or topped with a cross, Turkish Minister
of Culture and Tourism, Ertugrul Gunay stated.

"The church is a museum under the Ministry and will be operating as
a museum only," Milliyet cited the Minister as saying.

In December 2009, Van mayor Munir Karaloglu announced that, after
speaking with Turkey’s Ministry of Culture, a decision was made to
open the Armenian church on the island of Akhtamar. As he noted, the
church, located in Lake Van in eastern Turkey, will begin officially
opening its doors on September 12, 2010.

The 300-seat Holy Cross Church, located on a small island in the
middle of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, is in many ways a symbol of
the country’s Armenian community. 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. The
church, whose sandstone walls and dome are 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. By the end of last century, the church was falling apart
due to the heavy rains and winds that swept across the lake.

Following its restoration and reopening in 2007 Holy Cross Church
was operating as a museum.