Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I will leave for Aleppo, Syria to re-consecrate the Armenian Forty Martyrs Cathedral on March 30.

The Catholicos himself broke the news in Antelias, the seat of the Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia.

The church was destroyed by the Islamic State militants in April 2015 after they laid explosives in tunnels dug under foundations.

The restoration of the Forty Martyrs Church was financed by the Armenian community of Aleppo. At least 150 thousand people contributed to the restoration of the shrine.

Prior to the war, about a quarter of a million Christians lived in Aleppo, which was home to at least 45 active churches. To date, about half of them have been destroyed and are waiting for their turn for restoration. During the war, militants of many terrorist groups destroyed Christian monasteries, cathedrals and temples throughout the country, looting and desecrating Christian shrines.