President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday inaugurated the first-ever church built in Türkiye's nearly centenary history as a republic.
Following years of meticulous work, the St. Ephrem Syriac Ancient Orthodox Church situated in the leafy neighborhood of Yeşilköy on the European part of Istanbul thus opened its doors to worshippers marking a momentous moment in history.
Speaking at the ceremony, the president said: "I hope that the church will bring good luck to the Syriac community. I congratulate those who contributed."
"We worked in coordination with the administrators of the Syriac community and ensured that the necessary steps were taken," he added.
"To date, a total of 1,084 properties, 113 of which belong to the Syriac community, have been registered in the name of community foundations," Erdoğan said.
The foundation laying ceremony for the church, designed as a five-story project in a vacant area of the Latin Catholic Cemetery, was held in a ceremony attended by President Erdoğan in 2019 while the opening that was planned for an earlier date this year was briefly halted due to the devastating February earthquakes.
Earlier this week, Istanbul Assyrian Kadim Foundation President Sait Susin expressed excitement about the much-awaited inauguration.
He pointed out that Syriac communities worldwide have been closely following this process, with many expressing their desire to attend the opening ceremony.
In his interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), he highlighted that the construction of the church spanned a decade, with seven years dedicated to formalities and procedures.
In a separate statement to Agence France-Presse (AFP) Susin said, "This is the first newly built church to open its doors since the founding of the Republic of Türkiye."
"We are happy," he noted.
During the opening ceremony, Susin conveyed his heartfelt appreciation to the authorities and all those in attendance at the ceremony. He fondly reminisced about the pivotal decision to construct the historic church in the Yeşilköy neighborhood, which had been made during the tenure of President Erdoğan when he served as prime minister.
It is estimated that about 17,000 Syriac residents live in the city. Assyrian Christianity traces its history to communities that lived in the A.D. first century in a region stretching from southeastern Türkiye to Syria and Iraq.
One floor of the newly opened five-story church in Yeşilköy was reserved as a cultural hall for the community to meet after mass or ceremonies such as baptisms, funerals and weddings, as well as for meetings and conferences. On the ground floor are the bishop's quarters, guest rooms and a parking lot.
The church that is expected to meet the needs of the congregation in Istanbul to a large extent is sad to have a capacity to host 750 individuals for worship.
Apart from the church in Beyoğlu's Tarlabaşı, Susin noted that they do not have another church on their property. Given that the majority of the Assyrian community resides in Yeşilköy, this newly constructed church will greatly address their spiritual needs.
