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MODEST HOLY CROSS MASS ATTRACTS FEW
Asbarez
Monday, September 20th, 2010
AKHTAMAR
With no cross atop its dome, no belfry or tolling bells and a makeshift
altar, the much-touted and controversial Mass took place Sunday at
Holy Cross Church, officiated by the Istanbul Patriarchate's Archbishop
Aram Ateshyan.
Thousands of Armenians who had planned a pilgrimage stayed away from
the scheduled Mass after Turkish officials refused to place a cross
atop the dome and the general sentiment that the Mass was a propaganda
ploy by the Turkish government.
The Holy See of Etchmiadzin and the Great House of Cilicia boycotted
the event, the latter citing the blatant political charade by the
Turkish government and the former citing the absence of the cross in
a reversal of an earlier decision to send a delegation.
With bell chimes broadcast through a loud speaker, several hundred
parishioners and Turkish government officials gathered at Holy Cross
for what was originally seen as a historic Mass in a historic church.
Most of the parishioners attending the Mass were Armenians from
Istanbul, according to Turkish media reports.
No high-level Turkish government officials attended the ceremony and
the church, which was deemed too small, was filled with local officials
and guests, while most parishioners gathered outside the church to
witness the Mass, which was the first held at that church in 95 years.
"Turkey failed to reach its objective because of its missteps
in recent times," said Giro Manoyan the political director of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
Manoyan pointed to recent Western media reports and cited CNN and
BBC reports, which clearly stated that Turkey intentionally avoided
opening Holy Cross as a church since in fears that Armenians would
lay claims on lands and territory.
He urged the Armenian church leaders in Turkey to press for more
religious ceremonies at Akhtamar, because, as Manoyan explained,
by granting permission for Sunday's Mass, the Turkish government
claimed the Holy Cross church as its property.
Manoyan also called on Armenian authorities to clarify to the
international community that the Turkish government's "permission"
for the Mass was done more as a gensture-appeasement-to its national
minorities than it was a concession to Armenia.
From: A. Papazian
Asbarez
Monday, September 20th, 2010
AKHTAMAR
With no cross atop its dome, no belfry or tolling bells and a makeshift
altar, the much-touted and controversial Mass took place Sunday at
Holy Cross Church, officiated by the Istanbul Patriarchate's Archbishop
Aram Ateshyan.
Thousands of Armenians who had planned a pilgrimage stayed away from
the scheduled Mass after Turkish officials refused to place a cross
atop the dome and the general sentiment that the Mass was a propaganda
ploy by the Turkish government.
The Holy See of Etchmiadzin and the Great House of Cilicia boycotted
the event, the latter citing the blatant political charade by the
Turkish government and the former citing the absence of the cross in
a reversal of an earlier decision to send a delegation.
With bell chimes broadcast through a loud speaker, several hundred
parishioners and Turkish government officials gathered at Holy Cross
for what was originally seen as a historic Mass in a historic church.
Most of the parishioners attending the Mass were Armenians from
Istanbul, according to Turkish media reports.
No high-level Turkish government officials attended the ceremony and
the church, which was deemed too small, was filled with local officials
and guests, while most parishioners gathered outside the church to
witness the Mass, which was the first held at that church in 95 years.
"Turkey failed to reach its objective because of its missteps
in recent times," said Giro Manoyan the political director of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
Manoyan pointed to recent Western media reports and cited CNN and
BBC reports, which clearly stated that Turkey intentionally avoided
opening Holy Cross as a church since in fears that Armenians would
lay claims on lands and territory.
He urged the Armenian church leaders in Turkey to press for more
religious ceremonies at Akhtamar, because, as Manoyan explained,
by granting permission for Sunday's Mass, the Turkish government
claimed the Holy Cross church as its property.
Manoyan also called on Armenian authorities to clarify to the
international community that the Turkish government's "permission"
for the Mass was done more as a gensture-appeasement-to its national
minorities than it was a concession to Armenia.
From: A. Papazian