Joy and tears as Armenians reclaim ancient church on Turkish island

Several thousand Armenian Christian pilgrims took boats to an ancient island cathedral in eastern Turkey yesterday for the first Mass held in the church since it was abandoned during the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians 95 years ago.

In 2007, Turkey restored the 10th century Akdamar church perched on a rocky island in Lake Van - a vast body of water in eastern Turkey - and opened it as a museum. Earlier this year, Turkey's government, which is aiming to expand freedoms as part of its bid to join the European Union, agreed to allow once-yearly worship as a gesture to Armenia and its own ethnic Armenian minority.

"Today, we are experiencing the joy of praying in this church and of sharing a spiritual tradition that is eleven centuries old," Aram Atesyan, the acting patriarch of Armenian Christians in Turkey, told worshippers during the service.

Turkey and Armenia are locked in a bitter dispute over the deaths of Armenians in Turkey. Many historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in what constituted a genocide around the time of the First World War. Turkey disputes this, saying the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Efforts to overcome historical animosity and normalise ties between the neighbours launched last year have been dealt a setback by the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan is a close Muslim ally of Ankara.

Armenian Christians from Turkey, Armenia and Georgia travelled to the brown sandstone church for the service. Many others reportedly did not travel in protest over the fact that a large cast iron cross was not mounted on top of the church as planned.

Turkish officials postponed installing the cross atop the church until after a nationwide constitutional referendum last week, saying they wanted to keep the symbolism of the cross from being used against prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party.

Mayor Yusuf Guni said the cross would be raised on to the church's dome in the coming days. Yesterday, it was mounted on a platform outside the church for the service, and many pilgrims kissed it or knelt at it to pray. Some wept.

About 50 people filled the church, while others watched the service from large screens on the church grounds.

"This is a historic event," said Karapet Hajipogosyan, who travelled from Yerevan, Armenia for the service. "I am reliving our past, I am remembering what we went through." My feelings are mixed."

Akdamar, called the Church of Surp Khach, or the Holy Cross, was inaugurated in AD 921.Historical records say the church was near a harbour and a palace on the island on Lake Van, but only the church survived.

One of the finest surviving monuments of Armenian culture from 1,000 years ago, the church was restored at a cost of about 1 million.

"The feelings we have are of grief, pain but also of joy," said Hegine Makruhi Buyukagopyan, deputy chief editor of an Armenian-language newspaper in Istanbul. "I never dreamt that we would be able to come here for worship."