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CHURCH BELLS RING IN A CORNER OF TURKEY ONCE THE SITE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE - WASHINGTON POST
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/10/05/st-giragos-turkey/
11:45 ~U 05.10.13
By Gil Shefler
For almost a century, the bells of St. Giragos - a magnificent
14th-century church built of sturdy black basalt bricks - were silent.
Severely damaged during the 1915 massacre and deportation of local
Christians, it stood roofless and abandoned for decades, a poignant
reminder of the void left by the killing of its congregants.
Here's a quick way to catch up on the week's news, through some of
our favorite photos.
Yet for several months now the tolling of bells can once again be
heard emanating from the belfry and echoing through the city's narrow
alleyways and busy markets.
St Giragos recently underwent an extensive $3 million dollar
restoration that included a new roof, the reconstruction of all seven
of its original altars - a unique feature for a church, which usually
has just one - and the return of an iron bell to its belfry.
"Right now the bells are just symbolic," said Arahim Demirciyen, an
ethnic Armenian who rings the bells twice a day. "A priest is currently
in training in the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem. When he finishes
and arrives here we can also start holding regular weekly services."
The reopening of what church officials say is the largest Armenian
place of worship in southeastern Turkey is part of a re-evaluation
by Kurdish Muslims of the active role their ancestors played in the
killings of minorities including Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and
Jews in the twilight years of the Ottoman Empire.
Last April, the Peace and Democracy Party, which seeks more freedom
for Kurds in the southeastern part of the country, acknowledged the
atrocities carried out in the area 98 years ago and called on the
Turkish government to recognize the killings of Armenians as an act
of genocide.
Its declaration flew in the face of Turkey's longtime insistence that
the mass killings during and immediately after World War I were not
premeditated but part of a civil war that pitted the region's peoples
against each other in a desperate struggle for power.
Abdullah Demirbas, the Kurdish mayor of Diyarbakir, has presided over
several initiatives aimed at commemorating his city's once numerous
Christians. Under his leadership, the municipality paid for 15 percent
of the renovation of St. Giragos, unveiled a monument in memory of
the 1915 victims at a local park and plans to open an Armenian museum.
Such acknowledgment comes as a breath of fresh air for the few dozen
Armenians in Diyarbakir - a city where they were once a majority.
Over a glass of mint tea taken in the shade of St. Giragos' courtyard,
Demirciyen, the bell ringer, draws a line across his throat when
describing the ordeal of his Armenian father.
In 1915 at the age of five, Demirciyen's father was taken in by
Muslims after his own family perished in the violence. Demirciyen
identifies as an Armenian Muslim. And he feels an obligation to share
his father's survival story with the daily trickle of mostly Western
tourists who come to see St. Giragos.
Ergun Ayik, who heads the foundation that funded most of the renovation
of St. Giragos, estimates there are thousands of people of Armenian
descent like Demirciyen in and around Diyarbakir.
While the opening of the church in Diyarbakir is good news for
preservationists and supporters of minority rights, it does not
indicate a nationwide phenomenon. In other parts of Turkey, the
country's Christian legacy is still under attack. In Trabzon, a city
on the coast of the Black Sea, a Byzantine church has recently been
converted into a mosque.
Even in Kurdish majority parts of Turkey like Diyarbakir, where
official attitudes have changed drastically, resentment of Christians
lingers.
When Switzerland banned building minarets in 2009 an irate group of
Kurdish Muslims showed up at Diyarbakir's Virgin Mary Assyrian church -
perhaps the oldest in the city - and demanded its bells be removed.
"They said if Muslims couldn't built minarets in Switzerland then
we could not ring our bells here - like we were to blame," recalled
Yousef, the son of the church's priest, Yusuf Akbulut, standing in
the center of the church's rotunda.
Police intervened and the bells continued to ring, yet it did little
to make the last three Assyrian families in the city feel welcome. The
last baptism took place two years ago.
"If we leave," said Yousef, who asked that his full name not be used,
"our churches will fall into disrepair and some might even be converted
to mosques."
Copyright: For copyright information, please check with the distributor
of this item, Religion News Service LLC.
Armenian News - Tert.am
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/10/05/st-giragos-turkey/
11:45 ~U 05.10.13
By Gil Shefler
For almost a century, the bells of St. Giragos - a magnificent
14th-century church built of sturdy black basalt bricks - were silent.
Severely damaged during the 1915 massacre and deportation of local
Christians, it stood roofless and abandoned for decades, a poignant
reminder of the void left by the killing of its congregants.
Here's a quick way to catch up on the week's news, through some of
our favorite photos.
Yet for several months now the tolling of bells can once again be
heard emanating from the belfry and echoing through the city's narrow
alleyways and busy markets.
St Giragos recently underwent an extensive $3 million dollar
restoration that included a new roof, the reconstruction of all seven
of its original altars - a unique feature for a church, which usually
has just one - and the return of an iron bell to its belfry.
"Right now the bells are just symbolic," said Arahim Demirciyen, an
ethnic Armenian who rings the bells twice a day. "A priest is currently
in training in the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem. When he finishes
and arrives here we can also start holding regular weekly services."
The reopening of what church officials say is the largest Armenian
place of worship in southeastern Turkey is part of a re-evaluation
by Kurdish Muslims of the active role their ancestors played in the
killings of minorities including Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and
Jews in the twilight years of the Ottoman Empire.
Last April, the Peace and Democracy Party, which seeks more freedom
for Kurds in the southeastern part of the country, acknowledged the
atrocities carried out in the area 98 years ago and called on the
Turkish government to recognize the killings of Armenians as an act
of genocide.
Its declaration flew in the face of Turkey's longtime insistence that
the mass killings during and immediately after World War I were not
premeditated but part of a civil war that pitted the region's peoples
against each other in a desperate struggle for power.
Abdullah Demirbas, the Kurdish mayor of Diyarbakir, has presided over
several initiatives aimed at commemorating his city's once numerous
Christians. Under his leadership, the municipality paid for 15 percent
of the renovation of St. Giragos, unveiled a monument in memory of
the 1915 victims at a local park and plans to open an Armenian museum.
Such acknowledgment comes as a breath of fresh air for the few dozen
Armenians in Diyarbakir - a city where they were once a majority.
Over a glass of mint tea taken in the shade of St. Giragos' courtyard,
Demirciyen, the bell ringer, draws a line across his throat when
describing the ordeal of his Armenian father.
In 1915 at the age of five, Demirciyen's father was taken in by
Muslims after his own family perished in the violence. Demirciyen
identifies as an Armenian Muslim. And he feels an obligation to share
his father's survival story with the daily trickle of mostly Western
tourists who come to see St. Giragos.
Ergun Ayik, who heads the foundation that funded most of the renovation
of St. Giragos, estimates there are thousands of people of Armenian
descent like Demirciyen in and around Diyarbakir.
While the opening of the church in Diyarbakir is good news for
preservationists and supporters of minority rights, it does not
indicate a nationwide phenomenon. In other parts of Turkey, the
country's Christian legacy is still under attack. In Trabzon, a city
on the coast of the Black Sea, a Byzantine church has recently been
converted into a mosque.
Even in Kurdish majority parts of Turkey like Diyarbakir, where
official attitudes have changed drastically, resentment of Christians
lingers.
When Switzerland banned building minarets in 2009 an irate group of
Kurdish Muslims showed up at Diyarbakir's Virgin Mary Assyrian church -
perhaps the oldest in the city - and demanded its bells be removed.
"They said if Muslims couldn't built minarets in Switzerland then
we could not ring our bells here - like we were to blame," recalled
Yousef, the son of the church's priest, Yusuf Akbulut, standing in
the center of the church's rotunda.
Police intervened and the bells continued to ring, yet it did little
to make the last three Assyrian families in the city feel welcome. The
last baptism took place two years ago.
"If we leave," said Yousef, who asked that his full name not be used,
"our churches will fall into disrepair and some might even be converted
to mosques."
Copyright: For copyright information, please check with the distributor
of this item, Religion News Service LLC.
Armenian News - Tert.am
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress