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Al-Arabiya , UAE
Sept 11 2011
3,000 Armenians attend mass in renovated Church in Turkey
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Thousands of Armenians from Turkey but also from the diaspora gathered
for a mass in a 10th century church in the eastern part of the
country, press reports said Sunday.
It was the second mass held in the Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar
Island on lake Van since it was renovated in 2005-2007 and turned into
a museum. A first mass was held there last year.
Turkish television reports said boat shuttles ferried the pilgrims,
most of them from Turkey but some from Armenia and Europe, to Akdamar.
A new lakeside pier was built this year to accommodate the faithful,
local authorities said.
Nearly 30,000 tourists flocked to the church, which hosts one
religious service annually, last year, the Turkish tourism ministry
said.
Monsignor Aram Atessian, who the interim head of the Armenian
patriarchate who chaired the ceremony this year, told the Anatolia
news agency that around 3,000 people arrived on the island, and only
6O percent of them were able to enter the church. The others heard the
mass outside through loudspeakers.
The Church of the Holy Cross is one of the rare vestiges of what was
once a large Armenian community in Turkey under the Ottoman rule.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin fell victim to genocide
during World War I under the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey counters that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many
Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their
Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian forces.
In 2009, Ankara and Yerevan signed landmark accords to end decades of
animosity, establish diplomatic relations and reopen the border, but
the effort faltered and Armenia froze the ratification process of the
accords.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/09/11/166395.html
Sept 11 2011
3,000 Armenians attend mass in renovated Church in Turkey
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Thousands of Armenians from Turkey but also from the diaspora gathered
for a mass in a 10th century church in the eastern part of the
country, press reports said Sunday.
It was the second mass held in the Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar
Island on lake Van since it was renovated in 2005-2007 and turned into
a museum. A first mass was held there last year.
Turkish television reports said boat shuttles ferried the pilgrims,
most of them from Turkey but some from Armenia and Europe, to Akdamar.
A new lakeside pier was built this year to accommodate the faithful,
local authorities said.
Nearly 30,000 tourists flocked to the church, which hosts one
religious service annually, last year, the Turkish tourism ministry
said.
Monsignor Aram Atessian, who the interim head of the Armenian
patriarchate who chaired the ceremony this year, told the Anatolia
news agency that around 3,000 people arrived on the island, and only
6O percent of them were able to enter the church. The others heard the
mass outside through loudspeakers.
The Church of the Holy Cross is one of the rare vestiges of what was
once a large Armenian community in Turkey under the Ottoman rule.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin fell victim to genocide
during World War I under the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey counters that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many
Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their
Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian forces.
In 2009, Ankara and Yerevan signed landmark accords to end decades of
animosity, establish diplomatic relations and reopen the border, but
the effort faltered and Armenia froze the ratification process of the
accords.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/09/11/166395.html