Historical Armenian church opens for service
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
The historical Armenian Surp Giragos Church in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır will open its doors for a Divine Liturgy on Sunday Oct. 23 for the first time in decades following the completion of two years of restorations.
The church will be blessed toward evening on Oct. 22 in accordance with the traditions of the Apostolic Armenian Church; the Divine Liturgy is set to take place the day after.
The restoration of the church was funded by donations from Armenians in Istanbul and abroad through an initiative spearheaded by Vartkes Ergün Ayık, a businessman of Armenian origin whose roots lie in Diyarbakır, and Raffi Bedrosyan, an ex-resident of Istanbul who now lives in Canada.
The Sur District Governor’s Office in Diyarbakır lent its support to the project as well, while the Bakırköy District Governor’s Office in Istanbul allocated two buses free of charge for Bakırköy residents who would like to attend the event, as it did during the opening of the Surp Krikor Lusavorich Church (Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator) in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri a few years ago.
Some 1,500 people from Istanbul, Armenia and the United States, as well as from countries across Europe and the Middle East, are expected to attend the historic mass.
No vacancies are reported to be left in hotels across Diyarbakır, as rooms were reserved months in advance. The people of Diyarbakır are therefore readying to host visitors in their own homes, as they did two years ago when the historical Surp Haç Church (Church of the Holy Cross) on Akdamar Island in the eastern province of Van was opened for mass.
Regarded by art historians as the biggest church in the Middle East, the Surp Giragos Church covers 3,200 square meters and has a capacity of 3,000 people. Used as a command center for German officers during World War I, the church was then used as an apparel depot by state-owned Sümerbank until 1950.
Armenian translations to take Turkish lit across borders
- Vercihan
- Istanbul, --, Türkiye
- Hurriyet Daily News Reporter *** Euro-Med Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue” to Vercihan Ziflioglu *** Among journalists from 37 countries, Hurriyet Daily News reporter Vercihan Ziflioğlu won the “Euro-Med Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue” from with four articles(2008). The award is given annually to four journalists from European and Mediterranean countries. “Euro-Med Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue” organized by the Swedish Institute and supported by the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation. **** AND SECOND JOURNALİZM PRİZE FROM TURKEY (2009) The Contemporary Journalists’ Association (ÇGD) has announced its journalism awards for 2008. The best reportage category Vercihan Ziflioğlu won her second prize. *** Besides two prizes Ziflioğlu won researching fund from Eurasia Partnership Foundation. She made an researching in Armenia 2008-2009. She won third journalism prize again from Ankara The Contemporary Journalists’ Association (ÇGD) 2012, the category was that 'The best news of year'.
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