Assyrian Church welcomes return of land

World Bulletin/News Desk
Priest Gabriel Akyuz says justice has been done with this decision.
An Assyrian Church in the southern Turkish city of Mardin welcomes the decision to return land to Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation, most vital Assyrian (Syriac Orthodox) monastery in Turkey.

Priest Gabriel Akyuz has told an Anadolu Agency correspondent that justice has been done with this decision. “This decision is incredible and wonderful and makes us happy. We thank Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who unveiled the decision within the democratization package. Justice has been done.”

The Assembly of Foundations, the decision-making body of the Directorate General of Foundations, approved to return land to the Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation on Monday. The Director General of the Directorate General of Foundations, Adnan Erdem, said the assembly unanimously approved the decision to return the land. He also disclosed that this decision means the biggest land return during the republican history of Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled democratization package that included the return of an area that belonged to the Mor Gabriel Monastery last Monday.

The monastery is the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. The monastery was founded by Mor Samuel and Mor Simon in 397. It is located on the Tur Abdin plateau near Midyat in Mardin.
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