MINISTER GUNAY SAYS HISTORIC CHURCHES CAN BE OPENED FOR RELIGIOUS SERVICES

Today’s Zaman
March 30 2010
Turkey

Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay has said venues that are
important to adherents of various faiths could be opened for religious
services a few times a year if there is demand.

Gunay said historic places of worship such as the Sumela Monastery
in Trabzon, the Church of St. Paul in Tarsus and the Church of St.

Nicholas in Antalya have special significance for Christians and are
maintained as museums to be preserved for the generations to come. If
there is sufficient demand, Gunay said, his ministry would permit
religious services to be held at those locations and open them to
the public for a limited period of time without hampering tourism.

"We will try to do this at each venue," Gunay said while answering
questions from reporters at a ceremony in Ankara to celebrate the
46th annual Turkish Library Week. He was asked if the ministry would
allow religious services at sites other than the Armenian Cathedral
of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island in Lake Van.

"Developments regarding the Akdamar church are not new. We represent
a democratic and secular understanding. That is what our Constitution
requires. Respecting our belief systems is a natural attitude in our
country," he said. "We are only strengthened if our citizens and guests
pray in different languages or different ways to the same Creator."

The governor of Turkey’s eastern province of Van, Munir Karaloglu,
announced at the end of last year that the 10th century Armenian
church located on Akdamar Island would be opened as a functioning
church and museum by next September, inviting every Armenian Turk to
the church when it opens for worship.

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross was in ruins and on the verge of
collapse. However, a restoration project launched in 2005 has largely
preserved the historical identity of the church. Already a hot spot for
local and foreign tourists, the Akdamar church is expected to attract
more attention when it reopens for worship. The Akdamar church opened
as a museum when restoration work was completed in 2007.