Aghtamar reopening becomes a celebration of Turkey

The former seat of Armenian catholicoi is now a Turkish museum

by Tatul Hakobyan

Published: Saturday April 07, 2007

Atilla Koc, Turkey's minister of culture and tourism, and Abp. Mesrob Mutafyan cut a red ribbon to rededicate the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross on Aghtamar Island in Lake Van as a Turkish museum. Depicted on the red banner in the background is Mustafa Kemal, the founder of modern Turkey. Photolure

Van, Turkey - On March 29 the renovated and restored Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Aghtamar Island in Lake Van was re-opened. The church was built in the early 10th century, during the reign of the Armenian King Gagik of Vaspurakan, and served as the seat of the Armenian Catholicos of Aghtamar from 1113 through 1895.

Turkey's Minister of Culture and Tourism Atilla Koc, Van governor Özdemir Çakacak, Archbishop Mesrob II, the Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, ambassadors accredited to Ankara and representatives of embassies, and an official delegation from Armenia headed by the Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs, Gagik Gurjian, attended the ceremony, which ended up as a celebration of Turkey.

On the day of the opening, Aghtamar Island and the mainland shore across from it were covered in Turkish flags, and only the Turkish language could be heard. Minister Koc, Governor Çakacak, and Patriarch Mesrob spoke, and then, as the Turkish national anthem rang out, they cut a ribbon - which like the Turkish flag was red, the color of blood.

Turkey spent close to $2 million to renovate and restore the Holy Cross Church, but inaugurated it not as an Armenian church but as a Turkish historical and cultural monument, in which no church services will be performed. Moreover, the government, in spite of requests from Archbishop Mesrob, did not allow a cross to be placed on the church. It was with this fact in view that the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Catholicate of the Great House of Cilicia both turned down Turkish government invitations to attend the opening. And rightly so.

Catholicoi not present

The Mother See announced on March 27 that it would "not participate in the ceremonies after having considered that the Holy Cross Armenian Church, recently renovated by the Turkish authorities, will not operate as a church under the spiritual authority of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and instead will be designated as a museum; and that the opening ceremonies will be conducted solely with a secular program and not in accord with the canonical rites of the Holy Apostolic Armenian Church."

The announcement concluded: "In this new century, when there is a universal desire for mutual understanding and collaboration between peoples, as well as in the context of dialogue between religions and cultures, this action of the Turkish authorities against the pious Christian beliefs and emotions of the Armenian people cannot be perceived as a positive step on the path of bringing the two nations closer."

Levent Bilman, a representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, told journalists that the Foreign Ministry - yes, the Foreign Ministry - is studying the question of whether to place a cross atop Holy Cross.

Archbishop Mutafyan did say in his speech at the opening ceremony that the Holy Cross Church is an Armenian church. He used the terms "Aghtamar" and "Holy Cross" rather than the Turkified "Akdamar" (meaning "white vein"). He entreated that the church-turned-into-a-museum be the site of at least one religious service per year.

"Respect the history"

Mr. Koc and Governor Çakacak stressed in their speeches that Van is the most likely magnet for tourism in eastern Turkey because many civilizations have thrived in the area over the centuries. They represented the renovation and restoration of the Holy Cross Church as an example of Turkey's respect for history and culture. Everywhere in Van there were signs in English and Turkish reading, "Respect the history, respect the culture."

But how can one speak of respect when Holy Cross - stripped of its cross, and with its historic name altered - embodies Turkey's utter contempt for history and culture?

Turkish television covered the ceremony at length. A clip that was repeated over and over showed Turkey's minister of culture and Armenia's deputy minister of culture sitting side by side, sharing a chuckle. Mr. Gurjian told reporters that Turkey is "a multicultural country," and expressed hope that the opening of Holy Cross could be the beginning of a "cultural dialogue" between Armenia and Turkey.

Official Yerevan participated in the festivity on the level of a deputy minister, which was a message to Ankara that Armenia is dissatisfied. It is not clear, however, whether any delegation should have attended the opening.

On his return to Yerevan, Deputy Minister Gurjian said that in 2008 Turkey plans to begin a five-year restoration project in the ancient Armenian capital of Ani, just across the border from Armenia. Mr. Gurjian said that Mr. Koc had not ruled out the possibility of the participation of Armenian experts in the project.

"Seeing the ruined state of the mother church in Ani, the Arakelots Cathedral, and some other churches, we were once again convinced that the participation of Armenian architects in the restoration is strictly necessary," Mr. Gurjian said.

Pavel Avetisian, director of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, who was part of the Aghtamar delegation, believes "cultural dialogue" with Turkey is necessary, as it is the only way to save Armenian cultural and religious monuments in Turkey from destruction. "If the churches of Ani are not restored in the next 20 to 25 years, there is a danger that they will be lost forever," he said.

"A never-ending process of gestures"

In a statement issued the day before the opening, Armenia's Foreign Ministry said, "This is a positive move and holds the potential of a reversal of the policy of negligence and destruction." (See full text on page A8.)

"We hope the same kind of approach will extend to cover the nearly collapsed churches of Ani, Mush, Tegor, and a dozen other priceless examples of Armenian medieval architecture, which have been abandoned at best, or more often, intentionally vandalized, simply because of their Armenian identity," the Foreign Ministry added.