TURKEY

MİDEN, Turkey — In a vivid display of Syriac Orthodox tradition, the village of Miden in Tur Abdin witnessed a collective ordination ceremony that brought 28 young men into clerical service at the historic Church of St. Jacob. The liturgy was presided over by Metropolitan Mor Timotheos Samuel Aktas, head…

SAMANDAĞ / HATAY, Turkey – The impact and aftermath of the two devastating earthquakes that struck Turkish and Syrian territories on February 6, 2023, remain deeply felt to this day—especially in the Hatay region of Turkey, where entire cities were destroyed, thousands of people lost their lives, and tens of…

ANKARA — In a landmark move that signals a potential turning point in Turkey’s decades-long conflict with its Kurdish, Alevi, Armenian, Syriac, and Greek population groups, the Turkish Grand National Assembly has officially announced the formation of a new multi-party body tasked with guiding the country toward a peaceful resolution…

ANKARA — Speaker of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly Numan Kurtulmuş on Friday announced the formation and the composition of the new “Peace and Democratic Society Commission.” It will consist of 51 members from all political parties. The new multi-party parliamentary commission comes after the Turkish state made a major U-turn…

MEDYAD (MIDYAT), Tur Abdin — As in previous years, the winners of the 21st annual Suroyo TV celebration, which took place on June 28 at St. Ephrem Church Hall in the Austrian capital, Vienna, are being reached and presented with their prizes through dedicated efforts. On the 20th and 22nd…

QANDIL, Beth Nahrin — Despite the rapid developments in the conflict between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which announced its dissolution, disarmament, and the beginning of a democratic peace process based on a message sent by the PKK’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, the party’s steps of goodwill…

ANKARA — The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, DEM Party) issued a strong response to recent accusations and calls for its dissolution by Mustafa Destici, leader of the Great Unity Party (Büyük Birlik Partisi, BBP), a member of the ruling coalition led by the Justice…

By Evgil Türker | President of the Federation of Syriac Associations in Turkey (Süryani Dernekler Federasyonu, SÜDEF)  The 2013–2015 Peace Process in Turkey failed. Everyone knows what a grim situation the failure of the process has led to: arrests, clashes, deaths … For the last 10 years, not only the Kurds,…

ISTANBUL — As part of his pastoral trip to Istanbul, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mar Ignatius Joseph III Younan visited the newly constructed Syriac Orthodox Mor Ephrem Syriac Church. The Patriarch was accompanied by Patriarchal Vicar in Turkey Archbishop Orhan Şanlı, Monsignor Habib Murad, Father Jimmy Sarkis, and Mr. Ibrahim Khabout.…

QANDIL — In a televised interview with Sterk TV last Friday, Cemil Bayik, senior leader in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and co-chair of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), issued a stark warning to Ankara: unless Turkey enacts political and legal reforms to address systemic discrimination…