Artak Shakaryan: cross to be placed on Holy Cross Church by April 24, 2011

September 28, 2010 - 13:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The September 12 constitutional referendum in Turkey will help Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan become a sultan, according to expert Artak Shakaryan.

“The results of the referendum showed that the ruling party retained public confidence,” Shakaryan told a news conference on September 28.

Commenting on the religious ceremony in Akhtamar island, he said, “Should Turkish Armenians boycott the liturgy, the authorities would have closed all Armenian churches and schools the next day.”

Shakaryan presumed that the cross will be placed on Holy Cross Church by April 24, 2011.

Holy Cross Church

The 300-seat Holy Cross Church, located on a small island in the middle of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, is in many ways a symbol of the country's Armenian community. The church was built between 915 and 921 during the reign of Armenian King Gagik I of Vaspurakan and was one of the most important religious buildings in the region. The church, whose sandstone walls and dome are adorned with carvings of Jesus Christ and David and Goliath, is considered one of the greatest examples of Armenian architecture of the period, and an inspiration for the Gothic style that later developed in Europe, according to the New York-based Landmarks Foundation, which has advised on the church's restoration. By the end of last century, the church was falling apart due to the heavy rains and winds that swept across the lake.

Following its restoration and reopening in 2007 Holy Cross Church was operating as a museum.