Sale of historic Armenian church sparks outrage in Sivas, Turkey

SIVAS, Turkey — The Armenian Church of Surp (Saint) Garabet in Sivas, Turkey, dating back to the 19th century, has been sold for 16 million Turkish Liras, equivalent to 500,000 USD, by its alleged owner, Hatice Akay.

The incident has triggered indignation and anger among both the local community and Christian groups in Turkey.

An investigation has been launched by Syriac Member of Turkish Parliament, George Aslan (Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, DEM), who has demanded answers regarding this violation from Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.

Aslan emphasized that the sale of Christian churches, monasteries, and places of worship is deeply insulting to Christian citizens.

“It is the government’s responsibility to prevent such sales and preserve these historical religious sites as national heritage,” Aslan stated.

As part of his inquiry, Aslan has posed critical questions to Minister Ersoy, including whether the government was aware of the church’s sale, the legitimacy of the claim that the church deed is privately owned, the number of churches and monasteries owned by the ministry, and whether there are any plans to prevent the sale of religious sites or return them to their communities.