Restored Armenian Church May Serve Dialogue

Restored as a historical museum, church of Surp Khach -known also as Aghtamar chuch- has been reopened with an official ceremony, which brought together officials from Armenia and Turkey.

Patriarch of Anatolian Armenians Mesrob II as well as Armenian vice Minister of Culture Gagik Gurcian attended the ceremony held on March 29 on the little island in lake Van, eastern Turkey.

Restoration of the church, which didn't function since 90 years, is a felicitous event, said Mesrob II.

An annual festival and a ritual ceremony to be organized at the island would attract believers around world, he added. "I hope this event would constitute the beginning of a dialogue between two peoples. I belive our government who did its best to renovate this holy place would allow an annual service to be held here".

Aghtamar Island, with the Xth century Church of the Holy Cross is the premier attraction in the lake Van area. The island also had other religious buildings, a harbor, a palace, and residences, all of which are now destroyed.

These structures were both home to the Arzruni royal family, and the Holy See of an independent Armenian Catholicosate from 1113 to the end of the XIXth century.

The facade of the Church of the Holy Cross is covered in fanstastic relief sculptures depicting scenes from the Old Testament. Inside there are faint remains of frescoes.

Decades of political wrangling kept the 10th century structure from being maintained but then Turkish government allocated $1.9 million for its restoration and renovation work ended last year.(TK/EÜ)