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ISTANBUL: Small 'home church' survives in Istanbul

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  • ISTANBUL: Small 'home church' survives in Istanbul

    Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
    Jan 3 2010

    Small 'home church' survives in Istanbul

    Sunday, January 3, 2010
    VERCÄ°HAN ZÄ°FLÄ°OÄ?LU - FÄ°RST PERSON
    Istanbul: Hürriyet Daily News


    Unlike Turkey's Christian communities that often belong to a certain
    Christian sect, one church founded mostly by Turkish converts from
    Islam eschews any denominational categorization. A member of the
    community says other Christian groups are far from the true path of
    Christianity. The church has asked the government for land, a building
    and security, but so far its request has gone unanswered
    In the middle of Istanbul, there is a `home church' with people from
    various parts of the world praying together in joy. Composed of
    worshippers from around the world, there are Turks, Kurds, Japanese,
    Chinese, Brits and Canadians inside.

    There are no candles lit by anyone and no icons or stained-glass
    windows in sight. The crowd is almost entranced as hymns are sung
    alongside a piano and guitar. Some are crying, some are kneeling and
    some are clapping their hands with excitement. There are people with
    their eyes closed while others have lifted up their arms, having lost
    sense of time and place.

    Bible verses are read for almost two hours. Interestingly, prayers are
    said for the government, the military and the unity of Turkey toward
    the end of the service. Meanwhile, a small pouch is passed around and
    everyone contributes an offering. Addressing each other as `sibling,'
    everybody hugs each other, regardless of whether they know their
    neighbor or not.

    This `church,' on the entrance floor of an apartment building, is
    connected to the basement by some stairs. The community goes
    downstairs to the kitchen after the service to have soup or tea and
    chat with fellow parishioners.

    The problems with other churches

    The `home church' is called Dirisu and was named after a Bible verse.
    Its doors were opened to the community with the permission of the
    Istanbul Governor in 1999.

    Almost all of the church's founding members were Turks or Kurds and
    came from Muslim families. The church's elders ` in reference to their
    founding membership in the church rather than their age ` said they
    are generally people who became Christian in their 30s because of an
    inner emptiness.

    The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Dirisu founders
    Bedri Peker, Ercan Yıldırım, Alper Ã-zharar and Aden Baydemir, who all
    come from different backgrounds. Peker is Kurdish, Yıldırım and
    Ã-zharar are Turkish and Baydemir is Chaldean, one of the oldest
    communities in the world. They define themselves as `shepherds,' in
    reference to Jesus Christ, and as `missionaries,' in reference to his
    apostles.

    Baydemir and his family from the Pervari district of Siirt in
    Southeast Anatolia were Catholic, yet he never saw a church building
    before he turned 20, only encountering one in Mardin during the 1960s.

    `We were one of the few Christian families in Siirt but they alienated
    us because of our beliefs,' said Baydemir. `I am not blaming anyone
    because they were ignorant.' When asked why he chose to be a
    missionary instead of following Catholicism, Baydemir said: `All the
    churches, including the Catholic Church, are full of rules. I had an
    undefined emptiness inside me; I filled it at this church. I have
    learned that Christianity is not only a denomination but a lifestyle.'

    Baydemir is critical of all churches whether they be Apostolic,
    Catholic or Orthodox. `We are praying for them to find the path of the
    true God. Unfortunately, they are very far away from grasping the true
    meaning of Christianity.'

    The Zirve massacre and the death list

    Peker, from Diyarbakır, became a Christian at the age of 24. He said
    he tries to proselytize at every possible opportunity. He said he was
    threatened shortly before the 2007 massacre at the Zirve publishing
    house in Malatya, where three missionaries were killed at a Christian
    book publisher.

    `The Zirve publishing house massacre was not an ordinary incident; it
    was planned. My name was on the kill list, too. I told law enforcement
    officers but they did not provide me with protection. Even our parents
    have abandoned. We have devoted our lives to the way of Jesus Christ.
    If the price is our lives, we are ready to pay it,' he said.

    `During my childhood, I was aggressive toward Christian children,
    calling them `Haço,' a demeaning term in Kurdish that means `cross
    worshipper,' because I thought Christians did not believe in Allah,'
    he said. `During my adult years, I felt an undefined emptiness in my
    inner world. That emptiness was filled with Jesus Christ, the word of
    God.'

    Peker does not approve of the term `home church' because he believes
    it is contemptuous. He said the church survives on the donations of
    the community. `We asked the authorities to assign us land and a
    building. That was in 2004 but it still has not happened. We want
    churches to be looked after just as mosques are.'

    `Our security is entrusted to God'

    Yıldırım said the community's main problem is not land or a building
    but security. `We have entrusted our security to God. We have asked
    for protection many times but authorities do not grant it. There is a
    police station on this street. We have that to trust at least.

    `We are different from other churches that belong to the minority
    groups. We were from Islam, most of us are Turks and we are a part of
    the majority,' he said.

    Yıldırm said being a missionary is misunderstood and therefore feared
    in Turkey: `It is believed that we will divide the country, but that
    is a misunderstanding. We are leading those who hear the word of Jesus
    Christ. That is all. We are not forcing anyone.'

    A confusion of terms

    Yıldırım said they were forced to call themselves a Protestant church
    because of the authorities but said they are against all
    denominations. `We are a church of the Bible only.'

    Like Baydemir, Yıldırım also criticized the traditions of the
    Apostolic, Catholic and Orthodox churches. `They have rituals of the
    worshipping kind. They appeal to icons. They have adopted practices of
    worship from the time of Moses. When you read the Bible, you see that
    these are wrong.'

    Ã-zharar, another missionary of Turkish origin, said his wife was from
    an Armenian background and that both were atheists before she went to
    Italy for schooling. He said their lives were changed after that. `My
    wife returned from Italy as if she were blessed. I started to question
    the emptiness inside me after I saw the change in her. We started
    looking for a church on the Internet and found this place.'

    As if by conclusion, Ã-zharar said: `I was looking for friendship and
    strong love. I found it here among my siblings and am born again.'
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