THE SYRIAC KADIM CHURCH IN HARPUT WAS REOPENED

The Syriac Kadim Church in Harput village of Elazig was reopened after 51 years, following the completion of its renewal and restoration.

After having been restored and renewed, the Syriac Kadim Church in Harput, the third grand church in Anatolia that belongs to the Syriacs, was reopened with a prayer meeting which the Syriacs coming from the surrounding cities attended, mainly from Adiyaman and Malatya.

The prayer meeting -which lasted 3 hours- was participated by the Priest of the Church Musa Dag, the responsible person for the district and the Priest of the Adiyaman Church Melki Urek and the Leader of the Syriac Community in Elazig Dr. Ishak Tanoglu.

Meanwhile, Melki Urek made a statement and after expressing his thanks to the authorities who had made this reopening possible, he said that they would perform the celebration for "the Day of Virgin Mary" in Elazig on 15 May 2002 and they would like the world to get through this state of war at once.

The church, which had been closed down in Harput since 1950, was reopened on 11 December 2001, following the completion of its renewal an restoration.