Antioch: Visiting An Orthodox Church
Another day, another adventure in Antakya! We had the crazy cool opportunity to visit an orthodox church with a member of the church! We grabbed hummus at a local hummus shop, and got to talking with the brother of the owner. The owner showed up later and offered to take us to his orthodox church down the road. When we returned that evening, the owner’s brother walked us over to the orthodox church. According to our friend, you can only go inside if you have a member of the congregation go with you.
We walked over to the church from the hummus shop. The doors were locked, but our friend found someone who had a key in the courtyard, so we walked inside the church.
Our friend walked us inside the church and started describing all of the different symbols to us. The church building we went in was built in the late 1800s. The original wooden church burnt down in a fire caused by oil lamps spilling in an earthquake in 1872. The church was very ornate. The altar was covered in gold and painted murals. Some of the murals included paintings of Jesus, as well as paintings of the 12 disciples below him. The altar also included a seat for when the head of the Orthodox church, who lives in Syria, comes to visit.
Another fascinating thing about this church is that services are usually in Arabic and Turkish. The members of the Orthodox church in this community are part of Turkey’s Arabic-speaking minority. Many of them speak Turkish but still speak Arabic in their homes and worship services. Most of these Arabic speakers are ethnically Syrian Christians, some of whom have lived in the Hatay province area for centuries.
Overall, visiting the orthodox church was a fascinating and rewarding experience. If nothing else, let this story be an example of how friendly the people of Turkey are! This man simply showed us his church to be hospitable and kind after we ate hummus at his shop. I have been amazed again and again by how friendly the people of Turkey are! Come to Turkey and you will be welcomed with a warm, hospitable kindness from the locals!
To our friends in the West, keep looking East!
Sydney Sawyer
Sydney Sawyer is a joy all-around! Although she grew up moving all over the states, she claims Huntsville, Alabama as home. She left Rocket City to study accounting at Mississippi College, which consists of lots of running, studying, and goofing off with her friends. Although Syd has only taken two accounting classes, she’s often given the label “beloved resident accountant and human calculator.” Some of Syd’s favorite things include hiking moderately-sized mountains, reading an obscene number of books, and blaring music in her car that is lovingly referred to as “Ethel.” Being Syd’s friend comes along with watching lots of documentaries, eating fajitas every other night, and giggling over the silliest of things. To know her is to love her!