The biggest church of the Armenian community in the Middle East, Surp Giragos was re-opened for worship in Diyarbakır province of Turkey after a seven-year break.

According to Bianet, the first Service was held this Sunday (May 8) with the participation of Sahak Mashalian, the Armenian Patriarch in Turkey.

The Surp Giragos Church suffered numerous fires and was in ruins for many years. With the support of the Diyarbakır Municipality and the Armenian Community, the church was restored after 30 years and re-opened for worship in 2012.

In 2015, the Church received the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award.

However, during the clashes in the Sur district of Diyarbakır in 2015-2016, the Surp Giragos Church was damaged and closed again.

The Church, which has a history of more than 800 years, was built in 1376. It was destroyed and restored many times in the past and even some parts of the Surp Giragos Armenian Church were completely rebuilt in the 1880's.

During WW1, the Church served as German headquarters and then it was used as a Sümer Bank storage building.

It was used for worship again between 1960-1980 and, after being closed for 30 years, the Church was reopened with the efforts of Diyarbakır Municipality in 2012.