Armenians wishing to hold a service in the Holy Apostles Church (Surb Arakelots Yekeghetsi) in Kars, which is now the Kümbet mosque, are calling for bans on using the church to be lifted.

Armenians have not been allowed to use the Holy Apostles church, known as the 'St Sofia' of Kurdistan, since it was turned into a mosque. Despite the Medina Charter granting freedom of worship to all faiths, the Armenian community is not being allowed to hold services in the church. The spiritual leader of the church in Van, Vahit Yıldız, said all places of worship should be returned to their original use and opened for worship.

Yıldız added that it was upsetting for them to see the church used as a mosque, adding: “in my opinion it is unacceptable for there to be such a ban in the 21st century. Unfortunately, our community is being prevented from using the church by the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). It is not a mosque, it's a church that is over a thousand years old.”

Kurdistan belongs to everyone, freedom of belief cannot be restricted

Member of the DTK Commission for Communities and Faiths, Eyüp Güven, said it was unacceptable for the Armenian community to have their right to worship taken from them, adding: “Whichever ethnic or faith community, no one should feel like a guest or a foreigner. Kurdistan is everyone's home and everyone has equal rights and responsibilities. Usurping the place of worship of another faith is nothing but disrespectful to one's own belief.”

Güven continued, saying: “War has brought about historical destruction which can go on for years. This church is an example of this. People should be allowed to visit their own places of worship.”

Racism is the name of religion

Writer Güven talked about the history of the church: “This important Armenian-Georgian church was built in the year 937 in the name of the 12 apostles of Christ, hence it is called the ‘Holy Apostles Church’. It is a place of worship that has changed hands many times. Most recently in 2005 a group from Armenia were forced to cut short a service by a group encouraged by the imam. The Armenian community wishes to hold a service in the church once a year. Obstruction of this should be removed.”

Holy Apostles Church is 1,061 years old!

The Holy Apostles Church (Surb Arakelots Yekeghetsi) was built during the reign of the Bagratid Armenian King Abas between the years 929-953. When the Seljuk Turks captured the city in 1064 they turned the church into a mosque. However, when the Seljuks withdrew from the city the building was left empty. When Kars was taken by the Ottomans in 1579 the church was turned into the Kümbet mosque. In 1877 when the Russians captured the city it once again became a church. After being abandoned in the 20th century and being used as an oil depot and then by drug users, in 1964 it became the Kars museum. When the museum moved to a new building in 1978 the church was again abandoned. In 1993 it was given to the Diyanet, that opened it once again after 70 years as the Kümbet mosque. Since the church that has been turned into a mosque is far from the city centre it has no congregation.