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ANKARA: Armenians Hold Church Ritual In Northern Cyprus

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  • ANKARA: Armenians Hold Church Ritual In Northern Cyprus

    ARMENIANS HOLD CHURCH RITUAL IN NORTHERN CYPRUS

    Daily Sabah, Turkey
    May 13 2014

    by AA

    NICOSIA -- Sunday's mass at the Armenian Church on the Turkish side of
    the island was the first in half a century. The Armenian community in
    the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Sunday held its first church
    service in fifty years. Around 500 Armenians coming from the Turkish
    Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sides of the island gathered at the Armenian
    Church in the capital Nicosia to attend the ritual led by Archbishop
    Varoujan Hergelian. The service was also attended by Lisa Buttenheim,
    the U.N.'s special representative in Cyprus, and Å~^evket Alemdar,
    imam of the Hala Sultan Mosque, along with a number of diplomats. "I
    graduated from the school near the church. These places were home
    to us. We are home now," one of the participants of the service,
    Gora Terziyan, told Anadolu Agency.

    She expressed hope that such steps would contribute to the peace
    process on the divided island. The island of Cyprus has remained
    divided into Greek and Turkish zones since a Greek Cypriot coup was
    followed by a Turkish peace mission to aid Turkish Cypriots in the
    north in 1974. The Greek Cypriot administration is a member of the
    European Union and is internationally recognized, except by Turkey,
    which is the only country that recognizes the Turkish Republic of
    Northern Cyprus. Another participant of the service, Gula Kasabiyan,
    said the day was of particular significance as being able to hold the
    service after half a century was evidence that the issues between the
    two populations of the island could be settled. "We should always look
    beyond for peace," she added. The Armenian Church hosting the historic
    rite was allocated to the Armenian population of the island back in
    the Ottoman era. However, it was abandoned by Armenians in 1964. Since
    then, the church went to rack and ruin but was renovated in 2010.

    http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/05/13/armenians-hold-church-ritual-in-northern-cyprus

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