Büyükdere Surp Hripsimyants Church, which has been under renovation for a long time, was reopened for worship on Friday, February 25, with a ceremony presided over by the Patriarch of the Armenians of Turkey, Sahak II.
The ceremony, which was attended by the Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, Fathers of the Patriarchate, Diyakos Armenak Kazancıyan, Sister Kayane Dulkadiryan, the head of Büyükdere Surp Hripsimyants Church Foundation Murat Süme and board members, Büyükdere Aya Paraskevi Greek Church Metropolitan, some presidents and administrators from Armenian Foundations, Sarıyer Mayor Şükrü Genç, representatives of the political party district organizations, the residents of the district and a large number of believers, started with the “patz mez der” (Open for us God) chant, sung by the Deputy Patriarch, Senior Father Krikor Damadyan, the door was knocked three times by His Beatitude the Patriarch, then the clergy of the patriarchate and those who participated in the opening entered the church followed by His Beatitude the Patriarch in the first place.
After the prayers recited during the ceremony, accompanied by prayers and hymns sung by the fathers, Patriarch Sahak II anointed the main altar of the church with “Surp Muron” (holy oil), then gave the Surp Muron in his hand to Archbishop Aram Atesyan, who then anointed the baptistery, the images of the saints, the side altars of the church. Evening prayers were read after the consecration ceremony. Afterwards, Patriarch Sahak II preached in Armenian and Turkish.
After the sermons, the ceremony ended with the Lord’s prayer and the final blessing of His Beatitude the Patriarch.
Afterwards, the members of the church board of directors, administrators, the Mayor of Sarıyer, the artist Erol Sarafyan, who contributed to the repair of the church, took a souvenir photo with the clergy and His Beatitude the Patriarch. Afterwards, it was passed to the hall for the cocktail presented by the Church administration. Here, His Beatitude the Patriarch presented a plaque to the artist Erol Sarafyan, and Murat Süme, the head of the Büyükdere church foundation, presented a plaque to His Beatitude the Patriarch. The cocktail, attended by all the guests, was spent with conversations.
