10:58,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Ethnic Armenian lawmaker of the Turkey parliament, member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Garo Paylan visited the St. Giragos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir to get acquainted with the ongoing renovation works.

“I visited the St. Giragos Church in Diyarbakir to observe the ongoing restoration works”, the lawmaker said on Facebook.

The St. Giragos Church has been built in 1376 and is one of the biggest Armenian churches in the Middle East. The first church ceremony after 32 years of pause was held in November 2012. The renovation works of the Church have been carried out by the financial support of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul. The Diyarbakir Municipality also provided assistance. In 2015 the local churches of Diyarbakir greatly suffered due to the Turkish-Kurdish clashes.