Holy Trinity Church (Sivrihisar)
The Holy Trinity Church ( Armenian Սուրբ Երրորդություն եկեղեցի , Turkish Surp Yerrortutyun Kilisesi ) is a historical Armenian Apostolic Church in the town of Sivrihisar of the province of Eskisehir .
history
The previous church, built in 1650, fell victim to a fire in 1876. The church was built in 1881 in the time of Patriarch Nerses II by the architect Mintas Panoyat. It was financed by donations from the Armenian communities in Eskişehir district. In 1915 the Armenian population was expelled as part of the Armenian genocide . The church was looted and the frescoes destroyed or painted over. From then on, the church was used as a storage room by the Sivrihisar community. From the 1950s it served as a generator center. In 1966 the first appeal was made to the Turkish Ministry of Culture asking for restoration, but it was unsuccessful. After Mayor Fikret Arslan of the Republican People's Party (CHP) contacted the Ministry of Culture again in 2003, restoration began in 2010 and lasted until 2015. It cost a total of six million Turkish lira. The church has been empty since the restoration (as of 2018); It is planned to be used as a museum and / or cultural center.
architecture
The church has a cruciform floor plan facing east and is a three-aisled basilica . In the middle of the cross there is an approximately two meter high tower, which is crowned by a dome in the cradle vault. The ceiling consists of a barrel vault with cross vaults and is supported by eight columns. At the east end there are two bell towers to the right and left, but they do not tower above the main dome. The walls are made of rubble stones from the surrounding area with decorations of white marble on the windows, the portal and the corners. In the northeast tower is the baptistery with a partially preserved baptismal font. The interior in the southeast tower served as a sacristy. It is one of the largest Armenian churches in Central Anatolia.
Interior
The church was originally completely decorated with frescoes, which were almost completely destroyed in the pogrom of 1915. Remnants of an inscription suggest that the frescoes were created until 1909. Only two fragments have survived: fragments of a saint holding a book and a symmetrical plant pattern on the south wall of the apse. Apart from a baptismal font on the outer wall, the church is empty today.
portal
The portal is made of white marble. In the final arch of the portal the Holy Trinity is depicted, which is framed by two angels; where father and son lean on the world. Below is a scroll with Armenian characters , which is held by two angels. The inscription reads in German: This church was built with the help of parishioners in the name of the Holy Trinity (Armenian: Սուրբ Երրորդություն ). Under the rule of Patriarch Nerses and with the help of the loyal Sivrihisar community, the memorable work of the architect Mintesh Panoyat, the Church of the Holy Trinity, was built in 1881.
swell
- Sivrihisar Ermeni Kilisesi. Retrieved February 21, 2016 (Turkish).
- 6 MİLYONLUK RESTORASYONDAN SONRA KAMERAYLA KORUNACAK. Retrieved November 7, 2016 (Turkish).
Coordinates: 39 ° 27 '12.7 " N , 31 ° 32' 6.7" E