Surp Krikor Armenian church re-opens in Istanbul

ISTANBUL (A.A) - January 8, 2011 - The Surp Krikor Lusavoric Armenian Church re-opened in Istanbul on Sunday after a restoration by Sisli Municipality. A religious mass was held at the church in Istanbul's Karakoy neighborhood. "I have been attending interreligious dialogue meetings for years, but in my opinion, no significant progress has been made so far because there are still interreligious clashes around the world," Acting Armenian Patriarch Aram Atesyan said after the religious mass. The Surp Krikor Lusarovic Armenian Church is the oldest Armenian church of Istanbul. It was written in a manuscript that there was a church there in the name of Surp Sarkis in 1360. It was rebuilt in 1431. Since it was fell down in 1958, architect Bedros Zabyan built a new one. It is one of the churches which was built during Turkish Republic period. Its conical dome differs it from other Armenian churches. In the crypt there are some nice tiles deriving from the previous church on the site. The restoration lasted about six months.