Once one of the largest churches in the Middle East, Surp Giragos Church in Turkey\u2019s southeastern province of Diyarbak\u0131r was reopened for public worship on Oct. 23.<\/p>\n
Participating in the re-opening ceremony was Archbishop Aram Ateshian (Aram Ate\u015fyan), the deputy patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate based in \u0130stanbul (Constantinople); Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the US the Most Rev. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian; Legate of the Eastern Diocese of the US Archbishop Vicken Aykazian<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>; Prelate of the Armenian Diocese of Aleppo<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>, Bishop Shahan Sarkissian and others, reports Armenian news site bnaban.am, citing the Turkish Do\u011fan News Agency.<\/p>\n Reportedly, 1,500 Armenians overall participated in the ceremony.<\/p>\n Recall, renovation started at the end of 2009 after the Diyarbak\u0131r Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation undertook the restoration project of the church.<\/p>\n The church was seized by the German army during World War I, and in 1918, it was converted into a textile warehouse of S\u00fcmerbank. After the Armenian population of the area made an application in 1952 asking for its return, the church was given back to the community. However, because of the lack of a congregation, it had been neglected since 1980.<\/p>\n