Historic Armenian church in Turkey to be turned into a library

The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet recently reported that the historic Surp Asdvadzadzin (Mother Mary/Meryem Ana) Armenian church in the city of Kayseri will be turned into a library and “book café.” According to the report, the project has a budget of six-million Turkish liras.

“The church became deserted years ago as there was no longer an Armenian congregation,” according to Hurriyet. The church was then used as an exhibition center, a municipal police station, and a sports center.

The 2015 Human Rights Violations Report by Turkey’s Association of Protestant Churches stated: “The Istanbul Protestant Church has officially requested that the Meryem Ana Church in the hands of the City of Kayseri and in the past used as a sports center, to be assigned to Christians living in Kayseri to meet their needs for a place for worship. No written response to this request has been given. However, meetings with the City have indicated that, although not official, the church will be turned into a mosque or used as a museum.”

Sadly, the calls of the Protestant community have been ignored by Turkish officials. The church will not be given to Christians as a place of worship. It will be open as a library in the autumn of 2017.