The Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church united Christians in Antakya, Turkey, for centuries until last year, when an earthquake killed dozens and displaced hundreds of others. Although they are now in ruins, many are praying that it will bring them back, AFP reported.

“Our churches are razed to the ground and the spiers are silent,” Fadi Khourigil, head of the Antakya Greek Orthodox Church Foundation, said on Tuesday during a service for the victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated southern Turkey and northwestern Syria 6 February last year. .

The deadliest disaster in Turkey’s modern history, the earthquake killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey and nearly 6,000 in Syria and left millions homeless. It also devastated the rich cultural and religious heritage of Antioch, which was once called Antioch and was founded in 300 BC. the Seleucid dynasty.

Home to Christians, Jews and Muslims, the ancient city has passed from Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Ottoman Turks over the centuries.

Those gathered near the church prayed in Arabic and Turkish for the 63 dead from the local Christian community.

Icons, crucifixes and liturgical vessels have since been recovered from the remains of the church and given to the Museum of Archeology in Hatay, Khurigil said. Some remained under rubble.

“I saw the church for the first time after the earthquake and I couldn’t believe my eyes (from the extent of the destruction). I was deeply shocked,” said 18-year-old Larina Balikcioglu, a medical student who was on duty.

But now the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, which was also destroyed by an earthquake in 1872 but was later restored by Russian architects, is ready for a new revival, as the project for its restoration has been approved. Construction works await the results of the soil survey.

“This city was destroyed and rebuilt seven times. It was destroyed for the eighth time and hopefully it will be rebuilt again,” Khurigil said, referring to other earthquakes that have rocked the region, which sits on a geological fault.

“Please come back”

About 370 Greek Orthodox families lived in Antakya before the 2023 earthquake, but only 20 remain today, he told Reuters.

Khurigil, 49, who was born and raised in Antakya, said 45 families had moved to Mersin province, a three-hour drive away.

Although his own family’s house in the center of the city was only slightly damaged by the earthquake, they are now staying in their summer home in Hatay province because of the poor living conditions in Antakya.

“Antakya occupies a special place in the hearts of those who had to leave, because it is here that they have roots and land. Letting go of this city is not easy for us,” he said.

David Kagan, 53, another member of the local Greek Orthodox community, said it was important to rebuild the churches. According to him, even before the earthquake, the Christian community of Antakya in predominantly Muslim Turkey was shrinking every year, and the latest disaster put it on the verge of extinction.

“Our place of worship is what unites us, and without it we cannot gather,” he said, adding that Turkish authorities and international organizations should promote projects to encourage people to return to Antakya.

“We are not going to leave here. The soul of the city is represented by its people. To those who left, I say: please come back,” he says.