RESTORED ARMENIAN CHURCH REOPENS IN KARAKOY

Today’s Zaman
Jan 9 2012

Sunday saw St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church in the Karaköy
quarter of Ä°stanbul reopen for religious services following a six-year
period of renovation supported by SiÅ~_li Municipality Mayor Mustafa
Sarıgul.

Sarıgul was joined for the occasion by the mayor of Munich, Christian
Ude, along with Archbishop Aram AteÅ~_yan, deputy patriarch of the
Armenian Patriarchate based in Ä°stanbul.

Speaking at the opening ceremony prior to the Sunday church service,
AteÅ~_yan thanked Sarıgul for his support and efforts during the
renovation, emphasizing the importance and value of showing respect
towards houses of worship, “We are all indebted to Å~^iÅ~_li Mayor
Mustafa Sarıgul, who has extended a helping hand to all sorts of
projects in places ranging from Diyarbakır to Van, as well as many
more that I do not even know about. I want to thank him on behalf of
the patriarchate,” he said.

Commenting upon the attendance of special guest Ude at the opening,
Sarıgul said he was thrilled to have the mayor of Munich present on
the occasion. “I thought long and hard about who I could invite to the
opening who would be supportive and appreciative of such a project,
and Christian Ude came to mind. We are absolutely delighted to have
Ude, who has initiated and supported so many important projects in
Munich over the years, with us in Ä°stanbul today,” he said. The
church, which is unique in that it is the only one in Ä°stanbul with
a conical dome, is the latest in a line of Armenian churches that
have undergone restoration and been reopened in Turkey.

From: A. Papazian