OFFICIAL TURKISH REPORT CITES 45 ACTIVE ARMENIAN CHURCHES IN ISTANBUL: 10 MORE THAN CLAIMED BY ARMENIAN CHURCH

Mesrob II, Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul Delivers
New Year's Message In Holy Mother of God Church

In the January 11th edition of Hurriyet there is an article that cites figures from a recent study made by the Turkish Police Headquarters that deals with the number of places of worship in Turkey.

According to the report there are some 77,777 mosques in Turkey.

The report cites 373 official houses of worship for non-Muslims at the end of 2006. Interestingly, while only some 2,000 Greeks reside in Turkey, the report cites some 90 active Greek Orthodox churches in Turkey - 75 in Istanbul alone.

According to the report there are some 45 working Armenian churches in Istanbul, with an additional 7 in Hatay and 1 each in the towns of Mardin, Kayseri and Diyarbekir. These numbers would seem to be artificially exaggerated since the website of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the United States (Eastern Diocese) cites only 35 churches in Istanbul and 1 each in Hatay (Vakif), Kayseri, Iskenderoun and Diyarbekir.

Regardless of the correct number, suffice it to say that the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul must walk a fine line when it deals with the Turkish government in matters of church property ownership and maintenance of said holdings.

Just last December, Turkish President Ahmet Sezer vetoed a key piece of reform legislation called the "foundations law" which was designed to broaden religious freedom in Turkey for its non-Muslim minorities which constitute only 1% of the overall population. The legislation, which passed after months of heated debate in the Turkish Parliament, would have enabled the country's religious minorities to regain their property rights and reclaim dozens of valuable properties confiscated by the Turkish state over the past three decades. To read more on this subject please visit the website of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul.