AAC Jerusalem Patriarch refused to attend liturgy in Holy Cross Church in Akhtamar

September 7, 2010 - 11:39 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Patriarch of St. James Jerusalem, His Holiness Torkom Manoogian will not attend the liturgy in Holy Cross Church in Akhtamar island on September 19, 2010.

“Patriarch is already 80 years old and he can’t depart for Van. Moreover, participation of representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church in a ceremony in a non-consecrated church and without a cross on the dome is inadmissible,” Jerusalem Hay Dat office director Georgetta Avakian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Thus, three Supreme Patriarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church – Catholicos of Armenians His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia His Holiness Aram I and Patriarch of St. James Jerusalem Torkom Manoogian have boycotted the religious ceremony in Turkey.

Holy Cross Church

The 300-seat Holy Cross Church, located on a small island in the middle of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, is in many ways a symbol of the country's Armenian community. The church was built between 915 and 921 during the reign of Armenian King Gagik I of Vaspurakan and was one of the most important religious buildings in the region. The church, whose sandstone walls and dome are adorned with carvings of Jesus Christ and David and Goliath, is considered one of the greatest examples of Armenian architecture of the period, and an inspiration for the Gothic style that later developed in Europe, according to the New York-based Landmarks Foundation, which has advised on the church's restoration. By the end of last century, the church was falling apart due to the heavy rains and winds that swept across the lake.

Following its restoration and reopening in 2007 Holy Cross Church was operating as a museum.