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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Aug 24 2012
Bells at Diyarbakır Armenian church to toll after 97 years
DIYARBAKIR - DHA
The bell-tower of Diyarbakır's Surp Giragos Church Armenian Church, a
very important church for the Armenian community in the Middle East,
is set to return to use after a 97-year interval, with a new bell made
in Russia.
As part of repair and restoration work at the Surp Giragos Church a
new bell was made in Moscow, and has been delivered to Diyarbakır. The
bronze bell weighs 100 kilograms, and will ring from the bell-tower
beginning at its reopening ceremony on Nov. 4.
The church's bell-tower was demolished in 1915, on the grounds that it
was `higher than the minarets in the city.' Diyarbakır's Surp Sarkis
Giragos Armenian Church Foundation began restoring the church, which
had fallen into disrepair, in 2010. The restoration work, which was
also supported by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality with one
million Turkish Liras in financial aid, was completed, and the church
was reopened to service, in Oct. 2011. Work on other parts of the
church has continued, stopping from time to time due to financial
problems. A total of two million liras have been spent on the
restoration and repair work so far, and the total cost will be 3.2
million liras.
The church which was built in 1376 is located in the FatihpaÅ?a
neighborhood in Diyarbakır's Sur district, which is densely populated
by Armenians. The title for the land the church is built on used to
belong to Armenian community, and it served as a metropolitan until
1915. Regarded by art historians as the biggest church in the Middle
East, the Surp Giragos Church covers 3,200 square meters and has a
capacity of 3,000 people. Used as a command center for German officers
during World War I, the church was then used as an apparel depot by
state-owned Sümerbank until 1950.
August/24/2012
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/bells-at-diyarbakir-armenian-church-to-toll-after-97-years.aspx?pageID=238&nID=28568&NewsCatID=393
From: A. Papazian
Aug 24 2012
Bells at Diyarbakır Armenian church to toll after 97 years
DIYARBAKIR - DHA
The bell-tower of Diyarbakır's Surp Giragos Church Armenian Church, a
very important church for the Armenian community in the Middle East,
is set to return to use after a 97-year interval, with a new bell made
in Russia.
As part of repair and restoration work at the Surp Giragos Church a
new bell was made in Moscow, and has been delivered to Diyarbakır. The
bronze bell weighs 100 kilograms, and will ring from the bell-tower
beginning at its reopening ceremony on Nov. 4.
The church's bell-tower was demolished in 1915, on the grounds that it
was `higher than the minarets in the city.' Diyarbakır's Surp Sarkis
Giragos Armenian Church Foundation began restoring the church, which
had fallen into disrepair, in 2010. The restoration work, which was
also supported by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality with one
million Turkish Liras in financial aid, was completed, and the church
was reopened to service, in Oct. 2011. Work on other parts of the
church has continued, stopping from time to time due to financial
problems. A total of two million liras have been spent on the
restoration and repair work so far, and the total cost will be 3.2
million liras.
The church which was built in 1376 is located in the FatihpaÅ?a
neighborhood in Diyarbakır's Sur district, which is densely populated
by Armenians. The title for the land the church is built on used to
belong to Armenian community, and it served as a metropolitan until
1915. Regarded by art historians as the biggest church in the Middle
East, the Surp Giragos Church covers 3,200 square meters and has a
capacity of 3,000 people. Used as a command center for German officers
during World War I, the church was then used as an apparel depot by
state-owned Sümerbank until 1950.
August/24/2012
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/bells-at-diyarbakir-armenian-church-to-toll-after-97-years.aspx?pageID=238&nID=28568&NewsCatID=393
From: A. Papazian