Turkey: Country’s First Legally Built Church to Open in Istanbul

Source: The Christian Post, January 9, 2023

The construction of the Mor Efrem Syriac Ancient Orthodox Church, the first church built in the modern Republic of Turkey, is nearly complete and is expected to open within two months, the Istanbul Syriac Ancient Foundation has announced.

The church’s foundation was laid in February 2019 during a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul’s Yesilkoy district.

[Foundation president Sait] Susin told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that the church cost about $4 million.

He further explained that while there are churches from the Turkish Republic era, Mor Efrem Syriac Ancient Orthodox Church is the first church to be built from scratch in modern Turkey. “They were built without official permission. It is the first time that a church has been officially built. This gives us great pride,” he said.

Anadolu Agency previously reported that when completed, the church would serve about 17,000 Syriac Orthodox believers living in Istanbul.

Read the full story for context and links. Note the population of Syriac believers in the city increased significantly due to war in Syria.

Also under construction: Berlin, Germany will be the first location to construct a significant worship center for Jews, Christians, and Muslims to worship together. The House of One will be built on a historically significant site, once a Christian church (Back to Jerusalem).

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