Source: The Christian Post, February 26, 2023
Antioch, where believers were first called Christians, is among the cities devastated by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Among the hundreds of buildings that suffered significant damage is a church that was razed to the ground.
“Nothing is left,” Pastor Elmas Akin of Antakya Mesihçiler Kilisesi church in Antakya, the modern form of Antioch and the capital of Hatay Province in southern Turkey, told CBN News. “And this has been our church for 23 years. All those years of love and caring for everyone. Everything is gone completely.”
Despite the devastation, Pastor Elmas says there’s hope. The church building had been rented, and the congregation prayed for God to provide them with their own church building, she said, adding that a year ago, they found a plot of land and started constructing a new church building.
The church is now meeting in the new building though it’s still under construction. “There’s no more Antioch left, but there will be a new Antioch,” Elmas said. “God has already given us the building for it, and there’s no damage to that church.”
Read the full story. As a variety of other sources continue to report, the Christian community in the region is actively involved in providing aid and relief to those most affected.
Read Four Ways Your Church Can Help After the Turkey and Syria Earthquakes (The Better Samaritan blog).