Mor Dimet Church
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| Mor Dimet Church | |
|---|---|
| Mor Dimet Kilisesi | |
ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܕܝܡܛ | |
 Mor Dimet Church | |
 Mor Dimet Church | |
| 37°30′47″N 41°32′14″E / 37.51314°N 41.53717°E | |
| Location | İzbırak |
| Country | Turkey |
| Language | Syriac language |
| Denomination | Syriac Orthodox |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Dedication | Saint Dimet |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | Early Christianity |
| Administration | |
| District | Midyat |
| Province | Mardin |
The Mor Dimet Church (Turkish: Mor Dimet Kilisesi, Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܕܝܡܛ, romanized: ʿyta d mr) is a Syriac Orthodox church in Midyat, Mardin Province, southeastern Turkey. The Early Christianity church was restored, and reopened in 2021.[1]
The Mor Dimet Church is a Syriac Orthodox church built in Early Christianity and located at the village (administratively: a neighborhood) of İzbırak (in Syriac: Zāz) in Midyat district, Mardin Province, southeastern Turkey.
Once, around one hundred Assyrian Turkish families lived in the village.[1] In the early 1990s, the Assyrians of the last Zaz village in the Tur Abdin region left their village due to terrorist attacks.[2] Following the emigration of the villagers to Europe and the United States,[3] the village turned into a ghost town in 1993.[2] A priest and a nun have been living in the church for years, and protected the village. In 2001, a house and a bell tower were built in the church courtyard. The government decided the demolition of these additional structures in 2012.[3]
The Assyrians, who returned home when peace was established in the region, started a project for the restoration of the church. After two years of work, the church was reopened for worship on 26 September 2021.[1][2] A ceremonial worship took place on 11 October 2021 attended by the Midyat Metropolit and guest priests from various European countries.[1]
There are various dates about when the church was built. Some sources give the date of completion as the 4th century,[1] the 5th century, the time when the Assyrians accepted Christianity,[3] or 7th century.[4]
Gabriel Rabo from the University of Göttingen in Germany, a former village resident, states that "there are also Akkadian cuneiform reliefs on the church building's outer walls, dating back to pre-Christian times. The name of Zaz village was mentioned as 'Zazabukha' in other tablets, and that this region was used as a military headquarters in a tablet dating back to 879 BC."[3]