Church of the Holy Cross (Akdamar)

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The Church of the Holy Cross, taken in 2012.
Akdamar Island with the church complex in the south.
The church in 2001, before restoration.

The Church of the Holy Cross ( Armenian Սուրբ Խաչ , Surb Chatsch , scientific transliteration Surb xač ', Turkish Akdamar Kilisesi or Surp Haç Kilisesi ) is an Armenian church on the Turkish island of Akdamar in Lake Van in eastern Turkey. It belongs to a monastery complex that was the seat of the Akdamar Catholic from 913 to 992 and from 1116 to 1895 . The church is owned by the state and is currently used as a museum. Akdamar Island has long been the cultural center of the Armenians in the Armenian Highlands .

Church history

The founding of a monastery on the island is documented for the year 653 by Theotoros, a Rschtuni prince. In the second half of the ninth century, the island came under the rule of the Artsruni .

The church forms the remainder of a city ​​with a monastery and palace that was built between 915 and 921 by the architect and former sculptor Manuel on behalf of Gagik Arzruni , King of Vaspurakan . Thomas Artsruni , the chronicler of the deeds of King Gagik, reports that the king resided in Van, made Akdamar his second residence and surrounded the island with towered walls, terraces, gardens, a magnificent palace, a cubic structure with a central dome and a Had an arsenal built to which an entire city was attached. The building material was transported across the lake and came from the last Arab outpost on Lake Van, the castle near the village of Kotom (Կոտոմ), in the then Ałjnik province owned by the Zurarids tribe. The outer walls of the church are richly decorated with reliefs depicting many well-known biblical stories, such as those of Adam and Eve , Jonah and the whale or David and Goliath . In addition, 30 animal species were discovered on the reliefs, some of which are now extinct or are about to become extinct. The reliefs probably reflect the fauna of Anatolia at that time. Such a rich sculptural decoration was otherwise unknown at the time. A similar development of architectural sculpture did not begin in the west until about 100 years later.

The church is a 15 m long, 12.5 m wide and 19 m high cross-domed church with four conches , which stands on a two-tiered base. Inside, despite later whitewashing, remains of wall paintings from 921 are still present. Over the centuries the church was expanded to include several elements. The current roof structure was erected in the 13th century after the original one had collapsed. A chapel was added at the beginning of the 14th century. In 1763 the large vestibule ( Gawit ) was built in the west, with the main entrance previously located there being relocated to the south. The bell tower on the south side of the church is dated around 1800.

Until the massacres of 1895 under Abdülhamid II , the church served as a patriarchal cathedral for the regionally important Catholic of Akdamar. After the death of the last Catholicos of Akdamar, Chatschatur III. (1864–1895), the seat remained vacant. In 1910 the diocese of Akdamar comprised 130 parishes, 203 churches and 70,000 believers. The monastery was destroyed during the Armenian genocide in 1915, the church was looted and the monks were killed. By resolution of the Ottoman Ministry of Justice and Culture on August 10, 1916, the Catholic of Aghtamar was repealed.

The church was left to decay. In 1951 the Turkish government decided to demolish the complex. Yaşar Kemal , who happened to be there as a journalist at the time, heard about it and was able to save the church from total destruction through his commitment.

Current development

The church after the restoration

In November 2004, the Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported on target practice, especially on the figure of Christ and a picture of the Mother of God on the facade. The site was also reported to have been devastated by illegal excavations.

In 2005 the Turkish government decided to restore the heavily damaged historical building, not least due to pressure from the public and the press. In particular, the journalist Hrant Dink , who was murdered in January 2007 , publicly campaigned for the reopening of the church. The renovation work officially ended on August 30, 2006. The church was not opened immediately in view of the coming winter. In December 2006, Tourism and Culture Minister Atilla Koç announced that the church would open on April 24, 2007, a day on which the Armenians commemorate the Armenian genocide. Then there Mesrop Mutafyan , the Patriarch of Istanbul to remember that on this date, neither he nor any other Armenians in the opening would be able to participate. Another date was looked for and in March March 29, 2007 was announced at short notice.

On March 28, 2007, the day before the official opening, a discussion, broadcast on CNN Türk , took place in the church with Mesrop Mutafyan, the governor of Van Özdemir Çakacak, the president of Kaatalkaya Cahit Zeydanlı, the renovation company, and Şahabettin Öztürk, President of the Van Architects' Association. Atilla Koç joined the discussion from Ankara.

On March 29, 2007, the Turkish government opened the medieval Armenian church without a Christian cross as a cultural monument. The opening ceremony was attended by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Atilla Koč as well as the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I and the Armenian Patriarch Mesrop Mutafyan. Both church leaders are Turkish citizens. The latter asked the Minister of Culture in vain for permission to hold a mass there once a year. At the invitation of the Turkish Ministry of Culture, an official delegation from the Armenian Ministry of Culture also attended the opening ceremony. However, they had to travel via Georgia because the borders between Armenia and Turkey were closed. Karekin II. Nersissian , the supreme patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, did not appear despite an official invitation. He criticized that the building was opened not as a church but as a museum and that the Turkish government had banned the use of the church as a place of worship and the erection of the cross on the dome. The restoration work on the church cost YTL 4 million . The Armenian architect Zakaryan Mildanoğlu was involved in the restoration.

On September 19, 2010, a Christian service was held in the church for the first time in about 100 years. Previous differences such as placing a cross have been resolved. An iron cross from a museum in Van was placed in front of the church during mass. In addition to Turkish Armenians, many Armenians from Armenia and the USA traveled to the two-hour mass. Archbishop Aram Ateschian from Diyarbakır presided over the mass . At the beginning of October 2010, a 2 meter tall and 110 kg heavy cross was placed on the church. The cross was consecrated by the Armenian priest from Istanbul Tatula Anuşyan.

The church suffered slight damage in the earthquake in Van on October 23, 2011 . A crack in the dome was discovered and some windows and ceramics were broken.

  • A wall relief shows the biblical figures David and Goliath .

  • Reliefs on the east facade of the church.

  • Wall relief: Abraham wants to sacrifice his son Isaac .

  • Wall relief: Daniel in the lions' den, right

literature

  • John Gordon Davies: Medieval Armenian Art and Architecture: The Church of the Holy Cross, Aght'amar. The Pindar Press, London 1991, ISBN 978-0907132585
  • Thomas F. Mathews: The Genesis Frescoes of Ałt'amar. In: Revue des Études Arméniennes 16. Paris 1982, pp. 245-257
  • Stepan Mnatsakanian: Aghtamar . English translation KH Maksoudian, Editions Erebouni, Los Angeles, 1986
  • Sirarpie The Nersessian : Aght'amar: Church of the Holy Cross . Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1965
  • Susanne Partsch: Art Epochs, Volume I, Early Christian and Byzantine Art . Reclams Universal Library No. 18168, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-15-018168-2 , page 146 ff.
  • Thomas Alexander Sinclair: Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey. Volume I. The Pindar Press, London 1987, pp. 192-200, ISBN 978-0907132325
  • Josef Strzygowski : The architecture of the Armenians and Europe. Volume 1. Kunstverlag Anton Schroll, Vienna 1918, pp. 82f, 288f, ( online at Internet Archive )
  • Patrick Donabédian: Documentation of the art places. In: Jean-Michel Thierry: Armenian Art. Herder, Freiburg / B. 1988, pp. 495-497, ISBN 3-451-21141-6
  • Herman Vahramian: Akhtamar . Oemme edizioni, Milan 1987

Web links

Commons : Church of the Holy Cross  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Marianne Mehling (Ed.): Knaurs Culture Guide in Color Turkey . Droemer-Knaur, 1987, pp. 520f. ISBN 3-426-26293-2
  2. ↑ a b c Robert H. Hewsen: Armenia. A Historical Atlas , The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London 2001, p. 208
  3. ↑ HFB Lynch: Armenia, Travels and Studies , Armenian Prelacy, New York, 1990, 3rd ed., Volume 2, p. 131
  4. ^ Robert H. Hewsen: Armenia. A Historical Atlas , The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London 2001, p. 116
  5. ^ Robert H. Hewsen: Armenia. A Historical Atlas, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London 2001, p. 116
  6. ↑ Alfred Renz: Land around the Ararat. Eastern Turkey - Armenia, Prestel, Munich 1983, p. 271 f.
  7. ↑ Theotoros Lapchindschian: The Golgotha ​​of the Armenian clergy (Գողգոթա Հայ Հոգեւորականութեան Եւ Իր Հօտին Աղէտալի 1915 Տարին), Constantinople 1921, p. 29 ff.
  8. ↑ Aram Ter-Ghewondyan: The Arab Emirates in Bagratid Armenia , Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1976, p. 71
  9. ^ Article of the radical of May 21, 2010
  10. ^ Michael Bussmann / Gabriele Tröger: Turkey . Michael Müller Verlag 2004 p. 837 ISBN 3-89953-125-6
  11. ^ Richard G. Hovannisian (Editor): Armenian Van / Vaspurakan Mazda Publishers Costa Mesa (CA), 2000 ISBN 1-56859-130-6 , p. 85
  12. ^ Rafael de Nogales: Four Years Beneath the Crescent , Sterndale Classics, London 2003 ISBN 1-903656-19-2 , p.60
  13. ^ Raymond Kévorkian : Le Génocide des Arméniens, Odile Jacob, Paris 2006, p. 850 f.
  14. ↑ Asbarez, 1st October 2010: The Mass at Akhtamar, and What's Next
  15. ↑ a b www.virtualani.org: Armenian Architecture - VirtualANI - Reopening of Holy Cross church on Aghtamar (Akdamar) Island. Retrieved November 29, 2018 (UK English).
  16. ^ NZZ : Armenian Church in Turkey reopened as a museum ( memento from January 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) March 30, 2007
  17. ↑ Report of the Turkish newspaper Zaman from March 3, 2007 ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.zaman.com.tr
  18. ↑ Report of the Turkish newspaper Zaman from April 17, 2006 ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.zaman.com.tr
  19. ↑ Armenia to send official team to church reopening March 16, 2007 ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.todayszaman.com
  20. ↑ Newspaper article on cnnturk.com.tr March 29, 2007
  21. ↑ CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY CROSS: Armenian Christians Celebrate First Mass after 95 Years in Akdamar . In: Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi . ( bianet.org [accessed August 20, 2018]).
  22. ↑ Turkey allows first Armenian church service , Zeitonline article from September 19, 2010
  23. ↑ Akdamar Kilisesi'nin artık haçı var! , Article in Radikal of October 2, 2010
  24. ↑ Report from Deutschlandradio dated October 29, 2011  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.dradio.de  

Coordinates: 38 ° 20 ′ 25.3 "  N , 43 ° 2 ′ 13.3"  E