Church for sale upsets Syriac community
Property issues of faith groups that have long suffered at the hands of state policies seizing their properties is back in the spotlight after a man put a historic Syriac church in southeastern Turkey on sale online.
İbrahim Aycun, owner of the Mor Yuhanna Church that is believed to have been built in the fourth century in Mardin, placed an online ad for the church for over TL 12 million ($4.5 million), much to the chagrin of the Syriac community. Aycun avoided openly saying it was a church on sale and noted in the ad that it was only "a valuable historic property."
Many historical temples, especially churches built by religious communities, have been handed over to individuals through a set of controversial policies since the Republic of Turkey was founded. The faith groups seeking the return of their properties, now mostly in the hands of individuals, often file lawsuits and are duly rewarded by the courts. The Syriac community in Mardin does not have any claim to the title deed that was owned by Aycun for decades. They sought to buy it but to no avail. Apparently, the frail owner of the church, which is in the middle of a busy marketplace, wants to convert it to a mosque and donate it to the community as "a charity before his death," his neighbors say, while Aycun refuses to make a comment on the sale.
Rev. Gabriel Akyüz from Mardin Kırklar Church in the Syriac community in Mardin, says they were disappointed that Aycun put the church on sale. "We have a long-standing friendship with him and repeatedly asked him to hand over the church to the [Syriac] community because we did not want him to use this place as a warehouse. We would have the church restored and it would boost Mardin's tourism revenues. But he always asked for a high price. We cannot afford to pay the TL 12 million he asked for. We told him that we would erect a statue of him in the courtyard if he hands it to us but our efforts were fruitless," he said.
The church is largely dilapidated because of its use as a warehouse and a carpenter's shop for decades but the Syriac community believes it could be restored to its former glory if renovated.
Since the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power in 2002, Turkey has sought to restore the rights of minorities as well as temples of minority faiths, from Syriacs to Jews and Greeks. Many properties have been returned to these minorities decades after their forceful confiscation by the state, while the government also pursues a policy of restoring abandoned historical buildings.
Yet, while properties seized by state institutions in the past can be easily returned to its original owners, those owned by individuals is altogether a different matter. The Armenian community, for instance, had staged days of protests before the new owner of a historic orphanage in Istanbul seized from the Armenian church had agreed to return it to the church.
İbrahim Aycun, owner of the Mor Yuhanna Church that is believed to have been built in the fourth century in Mardin, placed an online ad for the church for over TL 12 million ($4.5 million), much to the chagrin of the Syriac community. Aycun avoided openly saying it was a church on sale and noted in the ad that it was only "a valuable historic property."
Many historical temples, especially churches built by religious communities, have been handed over to individuals through a set of controversial policies since the Republic of Turkey was founded. The faith groups seeking the return of their properties, now mostly in the hands of individuals, often file lawsuits and are duly rewarded by the courts. The Syriac community in Mardin does not have any claim to the title deed that was owned by Aycun for decades. They sought to buy it but to no avail. Apparently, the frail owner of the church, which is in the middle of a busy marketplace, wants to convert it to a mosque and donate it to the community as "a charity before his death," his neighbors say, while Aycun refuses to make a comment on the sale.
Rev. Gabriel Akyüz from Mardin Kırklar Church in the Syriac community in Mardin, says they were disappointed that Aycun put the church on sale. "We have a long-standing friendship with him and repeatedly asked him to hand over the church to the [Syriac] community because we did not want him to use this place as a warehouse. We would have the church restored and it would boost Mardin's tourism revenues. But he always asked for a high price. We cannot afford to pay the TL 12 million he asked for. We told him that we would erect a statue of him in the courtyard if he hands it to us but our efforts were fruitless," he said.
The church is largely dilapidated because of its use as a warehouse and a carpenter's shop for decades but the Syriac community believes it could be restored to its former glory if renovated.
Since the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power in 2002, Turkey has sought to restore the rights of minorities as well as temples of minority faiths, from Syriacs to Jews and Greeks. Many properties have been returned to these minorities decades after their forceful confiscation by the state, while the government also pursues a policy of restoring abandoned historical buildings.
Yet, while properties seized by state institutions in the past can be easily returned to its original owners, those owned by individuals is altogether a different matter. The Armenian community, for instance, had staged days of protests before the new owner of a historic orphanage in Istanbul seized from the Armenian church had agreed to return it to the church.
Last Update: July 12, 2015 20:10