Surp Giragos Church in Turkey to be reopened Oct 23

PanARMENIAN.Net - Surp Giragos Church in Turkey’s southeastern province of Diyarbakır will be reopened on Oct. 23 for a religious ceremony, Today's Zaman reported.

Renovation started at the end of 2009 after the Diyarbakır Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation undertook the restoration project of the church.

Ergün Ayık, the head of the foundation, said the Surp Giragos Church is in a complex that encompasses more than 3,200 square meters and includes a chapel, a meeting room, a school, a dining hall and rectories.

“Restoration of the church, which makes up about 85 percent of the complex, is secured. But the restoration of the rest of the complex depends on more funds,” Ayık said of the project, which has cost $2.5 million and has been provided mostly by the foundation.

Ayık also added that while the Diyarbakır Municipality had provided about one-third of the total renovation budget, other state institutions had not contributed even though the foundation had requested more funding.

“It was in ruins,” Ayık said. “Its opening will make moral, economic and social contributions.”

Ayık said that on the evening of Oct. 22 there will be a service at the church to consecrate it, and on the next day there will be a religious service.