Armenian American pilgrims canceled visit to Van due to earthquake

PanARMENIAN.Net - Last week Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), led a group of Diocesan leaders on a pilgrimage to the city of Diarbekir (Tigranakert), in Turkey, where they took part in the October 22 re-consecration of the historic St. Giragos Armenian Church.

The group which included the Diocese's Ecumenical Director, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, was scheduled to travel to the historic Armenian region of Van as well, but the earthquake in that region on Sunday, October 23 afternoon caused a cancellation of those plans.

As reported shortly after news of the disaster broke, the pilgrims from the Eastern Diocese are safe and were unaffected by the earthquake. But in a telephone interview Sunday, Archbishop Barsamian said, "After such a splendid [re-consecration] ceremony, our hearts were heavy when we learned of the earthquake, and our prayers go out to the victims and their families."

The restoration and re-consecration of the St. Giragos Armenian Church was a major event in the region, with dignitaries and pilgrims from around the world participating. Constructed in the 16th century, St. Giragos is arguably one of the great sanctuaries of the worldwide Armenian Church. After years of abuse, the recent renovation project—to which a number of diaspora Armenians contributed - has restored it to its former glory.

The number of participants in the service exceeded 2,000, with groups of Armenian pilgrims from Istanbul, the U.S., Armenia, Holland, Germany, Aleppo, and Lebanon present.

Among the dignitaries attending were the United States Consul General of Istanbul, Scott Kilner; the U.S. Consul of Adana, Daria Darnell; the mayor of greater Diarbekir Osman Baydemir; Abdullah Demirbas, mayor of the city's Sur Ici section (the area "inside the walls" of the old fortified city); and Mayor Scott Avedisian of Warwick, Rhode Island (U.S.A.) - all of whom were very interested in the service and supportive of the historic event.

At the conclusion of the service, the mayor of greater Diarbekir, Osman Baydemir, offered his warm welcome to the visitors - speaking first in Armenian, then in Kurdish, Turkish, English, and Arabic. To the Armenian pilgrims he said, "Welcome to your home. You are not guests here; this is your home. Anytime you come here, you are coming to your home."

With the next day's planned trip to Van (where the group of pilgrims was scheduled to visit the Holy Cross Church on Aghtamar Island) cancelled due to the earthquake, the Eastern Diocese group drove instead to visit the 17th-century St. Kevork Church in Derek, near Mardin.

The group is scheduled to fly to Istanbul on October 25, and will return to the United States later this week, reported the press office of Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern).