An Armenian church in the town of Iskenderun in the southern province of Hatay, Turkey, reopened for worship on Sunday, August 7, after having been closed for nine years, Today’s Zaman reported.

The Turkish Armenian Patriarchate appointed Father Avedis Tabashyan to the Karasun Manuk Armenian Church in Iskenderun. "We are living in peace and order and tolerance in Turkey," Tabashyan said during the opening service.

The church's former priest, Sarkis Serup Bilyan, died in 2002, and the church has been closed for worship since then.

The church was built in 1872.