Surp Giragos Armenian Church
Surp Giragos Armenian Church or St. Kyriakos Church (Armenian: Սուրբ Կիրակոս եկեղեցի Surp Giragos Egeğedzi) is a historic Armenian Apostolic Church in Sur district of Diyarbakır, which was expropriated by the government in 2016.
Considered to be the largest church of the Armenian community in the Middle East, Surp Giragos Armenian Church was built in the 16th century according to the information provided by İnciciyan. İnciciyan states that after the Sen Teodaros Church was converted into a mosque in 1518, the Surp Giragos Church was built in the cemetery of the church. In 1722, the church underwent an extensive restoration by the metropolitan of the time, Bedros Vartabed. Surp Giragos Church was destroyed in a fire in 1881. According to the documents, the church burned down accidentally and the Armenian community asked the Sultan for permission to repair the church. The sheikhulislam was asked for a fatwa on this issue, and the sheikhulislam issued a fatwa stating that "if an old church in a town conquered through peace burns down, it is religiously permissible for the dhimmis of that town to repair the church in accordance with its former state without adding anything to it" and the sultan granted the Armenian community a license to repair the church. Thus, the church was rebuilt and opened for worship in 1883.
