A cave church believed to be one of the oldest Christian worship sites in the world drew Orthodox Christians in Turkey’s quake hit city of Antakya on Christmas Eve as a shrinking community tried to regroup nearly three years after the disaster.
Worshippers gathered at the Church of Saint Peter, a rock cut sanctuary on a hillside above Antakya, the modern Turkish city once known as Antioch in ancient times.
“Since the earthquake, our community has scattered,” said Mari Ibri, a worshipper who told Agence France-Presse that many churches in the city were destroyed or left unusable.
Antakya, in Hatay province near the Syrian border, was devastated by two major earthquakes on February 6, 2023 that killed tens of thousands across southern Turkey and northern Syria and leveled neighborhoods across the province.
The city still shows damage, with rubble lots and empty, cracked buildings visible across parts of Antakya, according to AFP reporting from the city.
Father Dimitri Doğum told AFP that the Christian community in Antakya has fallen from about 350 families to fewer than 90 since the earthquakes.
Ibri said Christmas celebrations used to fill local churches and draw visitors, but her church in the city center can no longer be accessed.
The Church of Saint Peter is now a museum that is opened for worship only on rare occasions, including Christmas Eve.
Church leaders and volunteers prepared the service early on December 24, setting candles and religious items around a stone altar and placing figurines and gifts for children outside.
A recording of bells from the Saint Peter and Paul church, now standing empty in Antakya’s center, played on speakers.
About 100 worshippers crowded into the cave, with others gathering outside, while police and sniffer dogs provided security.
“It’s normal,” said a 72 year old worshipper from İskenderun, a coastal city about 40 miles north. “We’re a minority. It’s to protect us.”
Orthodox hymns marked the start of a two hour service, with chants sung in Arabic and Turkish.
Doğum said the gathering carries special meaning because the site is traditionally linked to the Apostle Peter, whom Christians regard as a founder of the early church.
He said crowds were larger before the earthquakes, including visitors who were not Christian.
At the end of the service, clergy and community leaders cut a large cake decorated with a Nativity scene as carols played.
A worshipper told AFP that the service was about faith and about bringing people back together after the earthquakes forced many residents to leave.
© Agence France-Presse