Armenians, the native residents of Western Armenia, should themselves decide when and how to hold church services in their historical land, head of Research on Armenian Architecture (RAA) NGO said.

“While reconstructing one church, Turkish authorities raze to the ground thousands of Armenian historical monuments,” historian Samvel Karapetyan told a press conference in Yerevan, when commenting on the September 19 religious ceremony in Holy Cross church in Akhtamar island.

Holy Cross church will mark the 1100th anniversary in 2015 and it’s important that Armenians organize a service without waiting for an invitation from Turkey.

For his part, literary critic Vardan Devrikyan said that installation of the cross on the dome of the church will engender a new wave of debates. He believes that the cross will be placed on October 27.