Akdamar Church re-opening applauded by Armenian and Turkish factions

The restoration efforts reportedly cost a total of 2,600,000 YTL, and have led to world-wide attention to both the church itself and the opening ceremonies which will take place tomorrow, and will include delegations from Armenia and the Armenian diaspora. The spiritual leader of the Armenian community in Turkey, Patriarch Mesrob II, has already arrived in Van, and has said that he is very pleased with the restoration.
 
Said Mesrob II: "I congratulate this project and its completion as a whole. In terms of the re-opening of the church, we have not held any meetings with Armenia. We are an autonomous patriarchate."
 
There are currently 356 journalists who have received accreditation to follow the events during the opening of the Akdamar Church. Some of the notable names to be present at the re-opening will include Minister for Culture and Tourism, Atilla Koc, Turkish Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II, Los Angeles-based Armenian Archbishop Amoushegh Mardirossan, New York-based Archibiship Khajag Barsamian, and Armenian's Minister of Culture Gagik Gyiryian, who will himself be leading a delegation of 20. The ceremony will also include various ambassadors and MPs, as well as prominent members of the Armenian community in Turkey.

One area of controversy does remain in terms of the general restoration of Akdamar: despite the requests from the Armenian community in Turkey, there has been no cross placed atop the church. The Turkish Foreign Ministry reportedly noted to the Ministry of Culture that just as the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul was not open to religious services, and thus had neither a cross nor an Islamic crescent on it, the same implementation would be appropriate for the Akdamar Church, which is also re-opening not as a spot for worship, but as a museum.