Armenians mustn’t participate in Turkish show on Akhtamar Island

August 25, 2010 - 13:54 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Professor Ruben Safrastyan, director of Oriental Studies Institute at Armenian National Academy of Sciences, believes that Armenians mustn’t participate in Turkish show on Akhtamar island, while Turks pursue Genocide denial policy, with thousands of landmarks of Armenian history lying in ruins.

“During the liturgy, a movie will be filmed ‘showing Armenians’ gratitude to Turkish government for the opportunity to serve annual masses at St. Cross church’. As a descendant of Van inhabitants, I find it unacceptable to participate in the event where a cross, to be put on top of a dome, will be taken off the next day,” Safrastyan emphasized in a conversation with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

The holy mass, to be served for the fist time in 95 years on the island of Akhtamar was rescheduled for September 19, instead of September 12, a date set for national referendum on constitutional amendments in Turkey.

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.