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Surp Kevork (St. George) Church was said to be a one minute walk to the
northwest of Surp
Stepanos. This was an extremely small chapel built into the rock.
Once a year, on a day to celebrate Surp Kevork , the Divine Liturgy was
celebrated here. As one left Surp Stepanos, and
headed to the right, a door leading into this small chapel was said to exist
near the top of the steps that led to the valley below. Alboyajian states
that this was "like a small cabin with cells. . . . There were four wooden
crucifixes there, three paintings, and a small table. . . .Every week, men and
women would go there on pilgrimages." This chapel was
mentioned in an almanac from 1718, and, in an interview that I conducted with a
former resident, this chapel was noted to still exist in the early 1920's,
although it was no longer in use. Any further information, or photographs,
would be greatly appreciated.
| There is a structure standing in Efkere which may be the
remains of Surp Kevork Church. Approximately 20 meters to the
northwest of Surp Stepanos, there is a building (see photographs to the
right) which has been described by current residents of the
village as having once been a "chapel", with some elderly Turkish
residents interviewed in 2002 remembering that religious services were
held by the Armenians in this building. This fits both the
location provided by Alboyajian, and also that I have obtained from
elderly Armenian natives of the village. This building will need
to be studied further. First two photographs courtesy of S. Burhanettin
Akbaş. The third and fourth photographs are also from approximately 2002, and
demonstrate that the structure is indeed built into the surrounding
hillside, as Alboyajian suggested. It may be that the chapel
itself was only the structure on the right, which was underground, and
not the structure toward the left, with the large arch. The final
photograph is a cropped version of one of the vintage photographs above,
with the area in question boxed in green. |
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St. Sarkis was another small chapel, possibly also built into the rock, southeast of Surp
Stepanos. According to Alboyajian, there was "a small table, two
paintings, and four wooden crucifixes." No further information is known.
Two additional chruches were noted in a 1718 almanac--St. Merecherios and St.
Theodore--no further information is known.
There was also an open-air site on the southwest side of the village
called Surp Elia. This was a chapel with no roof where Armenians gathered
on the Sunday celebrating St. Elijah for the Divine Liturgy. This "place
of pilgrimage . . .can be found in the village's southwest, at the edge of a
small plateau, watching the whole village. Surrounded by ordinary rocks .
. . the small main four walls, standing 2 or 3 arm lengths tall, made of cubic
stones, open from above, . . the width of the chapel is around 3 arm lengths,
and its length 5 arm lengths. . . .It was an ancient practice with the
Efkeretsis to visit . . .and celebrate Mass, . . with the participation of all
villagers, rich and poor, on St. Elia's Sunday. On the same day, men and
women from surrounding villages would also be present." Again, any
further information is appreciated. On the first photograph shown on this
page, the small Southwestern plateau is shown in the lower right portion.
Whether this is the exact location of the chapel is uncertain, although its
location, and the small edifice located on it, seem to correspond to
Alboyadjian's description.
Finally, an Armenian Uniate (Catholic) church also existed in Efkere, which
was constructed by Zeki Ghalfayi of Manjisun. Its location is unknown.
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