ICC Note: One of the oldest protestant churches in the Middle East has been reopened after sitting in ruins for nearly 60 years. The Mardin Protestant Church in Turkey has reopened for services, the first in 60 years. There is just a small population of protestants, or Christians of any denomination, remaining in this part of Turkey, a region that a century ago was home to a substantial number of Christians.

11/17/2015 Turkey (AINA) – The 160-year-old Mardin Protestant Church, one of the oldest Protestant churches in the Middle East located in Artuklu, a district in the southeastern province of Mardin, has reopened following extensive restoration work.

The first religious service was held on Sunday in the church which was closed 60 years ago and had been in ruins ever since.

A few remaining members of the Protestant church’s congregation attended the service. Rev. Ender Peker, the church’s pastor, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they were happy to reopen the church for religious services even though the congregation was small. Peker said that the province of Mardin has been home to Protestant Christians since the second half of the 19th century but that most of the community migrated to other cities or emigrated abroad some 60 years ago. “Due to the low number of congregation members, no pastors were assigned here and the church remained unused,” said Peker, who was appointed to Mardin from the southeastern city of Diyarbak?r two years ago.

“It is very touching to hold a service here years later,” Peker added. The pastor said that this house of worship is among the few churches in Mardin that have not been restored by the state, adding that they decided to renovate the building by their own means since restoration work done by the state would take time. He praised the government’s efforts to restore churches and the rights of minorities in Turkey over the past decade. …

ICC Note: One of the oldest protestant churches in the Middle East has been reopened after sitting in ruins for nearly 60 years. The Mardin Protestant Church in Turkey has reopened for services, the first in 60 years. There is just a small population of protestants, or Christians of any denomination, remaining in this part of Turkey, a region that a century ago was home to a substantial number of Christians.

11/17/2015 Turkey (CNS) – The 160-year-old Mardin Protestant Church, one of the oldest Protestant churches in the Middle East located in Artuklu, a district in the southeastern province of Mardin, has reopened following extensive restoration work.

The first religious service was held on Sunday in the church which was closed 60 years ago and had been in ruins ever since.

A few remaining members of the Protestant church’s congregation attended the service. Rev. Ender Peker, the church’s pastor, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they were happy to reopen the church for religious services even though the congregation was small. Peker said that the province of Mardin has been home to Protestant Christians since the second half of the 19th century but that most of the community migrated to other cities or emigrated abroad some 60 years ago. “Due to the low number of congregation members, no pastors were assigned here and the church remained unused,” said Peker, who was appointed to Mardin from the southeastern city of Diyarbak?r two years ago.

“It is very touching to hold a service here years later,” Peker added. The pastor said that this house of worship is among the few churches in Mardin that have not been restored by the state, adding that they decided to renovate the building by their own means since restoration work done by the state would take time. He praised the government’s efforts to restore churches and the rights of minorities in Turkey over the past decade. …

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