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NEARLY 100 YEARS ON, A STEP FORWARD FOR ARMENIANS AND TURKS
Sydney Morning Herald
Sept 21 2010
Australia
AKDAMAR ISLAND, Turkey: A service at a historic church in eastern
Turkey underscored both the desire for reconciliation between Turks
and Armenians and the hurdles that remain nearly a century after a
violent massacre of Armenians.
It was the first service held in the 1100-year-old Armenian Church of
the Holy Cross since 1915, when a wave of violence largely destroyed
one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East.
Many Armenians in the diaspora and neighbouring Armenia boycotted and
denounced Sunday's service on Akdamar Island after Turkish authorities
did not allow a cross to be raised on the church dome, allowing it
to be placed on church grounds nearby instead.
Advertisement: Story continues belowStill, hundreds of Armenian
pilgrims attended, many from the large Armenian community in Istanbul,
but also from Iran, Germany, France and the US.
"This church, which is a valuable piece of art, is a cultural monument
that belongs to the whole of humanity," said Archbishop Aram Atesyan
of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey during his service, according
to Turkey's semi-official Anatolia News Agency.
The government of the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has
strived to reach out to Armenians in an effort to smooth Turkey's
path towards the European Union.
From: A. Papazian
Sydney Morning Herald
Sept 21 2010
Australia
AKDAMAR ISLAND, Turkey: A service at a historic church in eastern
Turkey underscored both the desire for reconciliation between Turks
and Armenians and the hurdles that remain nearly a century after a
violent massacre of Armenians.
It was the first service held in the 1100-year-old Armenian Church of
the Holy Cross since 1915, when a wave of violence largely destroyed
one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East.
Many Armenians in the diaspora and neighbouring Armenia boycotted and
denounced Sunday's service on Akdamar Island after Turkish authorities
did not allow a cross to be raised on the church dome, allowing it
to be placed on church grounds nearby instead.
Advertisement: Story continues belowStill, hundreds of Armenian
pilgrims attended, many from the large Armenian community in Istanbul,
but also from Iran, Germany, France and the US.
"This church, which is a valuable piece of art, is a cultural monument
that belongs to the whole of humanity," said Archbishop Aram Atesyan
of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey during his service, according
to Turkey's semi-official Anatolia News Agency.
The government of the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has
strived to reach out to Armenians in an effort to smooth Turkey's
path towards the European Union.
From: A. Papazian