Armenian church in eastern Turkey to be opened to worshippers

Xinhua, China
Sept 17 2010

Armenian church in eastern Turkey to be opened to worshippers

English.news.cn 2010-09-17 18:25:59

ANKARA, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — A historical Armenian church in an
eastern Turkish province will be opened to religious worshippers for a
single day this weekend, the semi-official Anatolia news agency
reported on Friday.

The Armenian church located on the Akdamar island in Lake Van in
Turkey’s Van province will be opened to worshippers on September 19,
for the first time after 95 years.

Upon a proposal by the Governor’s Office of Van and approval of the
Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, Akdamar Church will host a
religious worship once a year and the first ritual will take place
this Sunday.

Nearly 5,000 guests are expected to attend Sunday’s service, officials
were quoted as saying.

The 1,100-year-old Akdamar Church was opened in 2007 at a ceremony
that hosted officials from Armenia and Turkey after it was restored by
the Turkish government. The restoration cost some 1.7 million U.S.
dollars.

Editor: Mo Hong’e

From: A. Papazian