The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul upset many Armenians in Turkey and around the world when it failed to send a clergyman to the recently renovated Saint Giragos Church in Dikranagerd (Diyarbakir) to celebrate Divine Liturgy on Easter Sunday.
St. Giragos is not just any Armenian church. With seven altars and a capacity for 3,000 worshipers, it is one of the largest Christian churches in the Middle East. The church’s belfry was destroyed on May 28, 1915, by Turkish artillery because it was much taller than the minarets of nearby mosques.
Turkish soldiers forced the city’s Deputy Prelate, Mgrditch Vartabed Chlghadian, to watch the destruction of the belfry as he was dragged to his eventual martyrdom!
Amazingly, St. Giragos remained a functioning church until the 1980’s with a local priest performing regular church services year round. As the few remaining descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors left the city, the church fell into disrepair and was abandoned.
In recent years, Dikranagerd Armenians who had resettled in Istanbul established the St. Giragos Foundation, which renovated the church at a cost of $3.2 million. Two-thirds of the funds were donated by Armenians of Istanbul, Europe, and North America. The remaining one-third was provided by Diyarbekir’s Kurdish city government, which has been highly supportive of many local Armenian initiatives.
To their great chagrin, St. Giragos parishioners were deprived of liturgical services on Easter Sunday as the Armenian Patriarchate informed them that it could not spare a clergyman to perform Mass in their church. They were told that none of the Patriarchate’s 23 clergymen were available, as they had to officiate in Istanbul’s more than two dozen functioning churches, but were promised that a priest would arrive in Dikranagerd the Sunday after Easter.
St. Giragos parishioners were terribly disappointed, as they had just installed new church bells procured from Moscow at great expense and effort. They had to ring the bells on Easter Sunday for the first time in almost 100 years without a cleric’s presence to hold services! The worshipers, inspired by the majesty of the church, lit candles and recited prayers, assisted by local Armenian-language teacher Kevork Fikri.
The Armenian Patriarchate does not seem to be the least bothered by its inexcusable failure to provide a clergyman to the Dikranagerd church on the joyous occasion of Easter Sunday, even though the embarrassing details of its unacceptable behavior were widely publicized in the pages of several Turkish newspapers, including Hurriyet and Radikal.
In the absence of Patriarch Mesrob Moutafian, who has been hospitalized for years with a terminal illness, Deputy Patriarch Aram Ateshian has been running the Patriarchate’s affairs. He should have assigned a clergyman to serve in Dikranagerd not only on Easter Sunday but throughout the year. He should have also provided all possible assistance to the many Islamized and Turkified Armenians who have come forward asking to be baptized in the newly renovated church.
Even more disturbing is the fact that Srpazan Ateshian on several occasions has made critical remarks about Diaspora Armenians asking the Turkish government to return to the Armenian Patriarchate over 2,500 confiscated churches. He has repeatedly asserted that the Patriarchate has neither the funds nor the clergy to renovate and operate these churches. Srpazan Ateshian fails to understand that the first step is to secure the return of the church structures before worrying about renovating them. Whether the Patriarchate has the necessary funds or not, Armenians have the right to demand the return of these churches. Moreover, many of the confiscated Armenian churches owned adjacent lands and buildings that could provide the necessary income to renovate and operate these parishes.
Given Archbishop Ateshian’s lack of enthusiasm about the return of Armenian churches to the Patriarchate, it is not surprising that, even though he is a native of Dikranagerd, he did not make a sincere effort to provide a clergyman to St. Giragos Church on Easter Sunday. One wonders whether he is buckling under Turkish pressure to discourage the budding national and religious revival movement among Dikranagerd Armenians, as making advance arrangements to send a clergyman from Istanbul, Armenia, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Europe, or even the United States would have been an easy task.
It is unfortunate that Islamized and Turkified Armenians have to confront the Patriarchate while battling the Turkish government in their quest to return to their ethnic and religious roots, and to regain their usurped rights and properties.
Harut Sassounian
While the Kurdish authorities of Diarbakir/Tigranakert do everything to encourage the presence and return of Armenians to their land, such negligent behaviour on the part of the Istanbul Patriarchate and especially “Srpazan” Ateshian cannot be condoned.
It is such a shame that our clergy, especially in such a sensitive part of the world (historic Armenia) do not have the courage to confront the forces that fight Christianity and Armenians. Even sadder are those Armenians who want to come back to us. The patriarchate is doing exactly what the Turkish government would want them to do. Which is rejecting these Armenians and send them back to the Masque.
Patriarchate of Istanbul, a beheaded entity, still suffers from the effects of genocide. Yes, demand more of them, but understand that the wounds of the nation cut very deeply. We look to spiritual leaders for healing, but forget they need to be healed themselves.
The behaviour of our Srpasan shows that he cannot become the next Patriarch at Istanbul. I am sure the Turks like minorities creeping in front of their feet. But I am also sure they look down on them.
The Kurdish Mayor of Diarbakir supported the rebuilding of our Surp Giragos church, which the Turks surely did not like. So it was our
duty to celebrate Easter with a priest there. What happened didn´t
show friendship to another Minority. Srpasan Ateshian comes from Diarbakir !!!
This act from our patriarch is not forgivable ,if he cant send a priest to many Armenians to celebrate this holy easter , so what is the need for such a man in such an important position particularly in Istanbul, If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before
This story about the Patriarchate ignoring St. Gregory Church, which I just read but was published in April 2013, is very disturbing.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul upset many Armenians in Turkey and around the world when it failed to send a clergyman to the recently renovated Saint Giragos Church in Dikranagerd (Diyarbakir) to celebrate Divine Liturgy on Easter Sunday.
I get SO upset that Armenians can’t get along with each other. Sometimes I think this is why WE have had to endure such hardship throughout the centuries!!!!
Then I read another article about Odar priests! THAT is a losing proposition. If we can’t have Armenians taking up the cloth, we’re doomed, and no one should ever doubt it.