After the Antakya Greek Orthodox Church was destroyed, 11 Icons were Recovered from the Ruins of the Church
Excavations teams located in the Disaster Area unearthed 11 icons, a large number of Bibles, including manuscripts, as well as some liturgical materials belonging to the historical structure, from the wreckage of the Antakya Greek Orthodox Church in Hatay, which was destroyed during the earthquakes. The historical artifacts will be delivered to the relevant people through the Hatay Archeology Museum, right after the cleaning and documentation works in the excavation house warehouse.
Along with the 11 icons unearthed from the ruins of the Antakya Greek Orthodox Church in Hatay, which was destroyed in the earthquakes on February 6, many Bibles and a wide variety of materials were taken under protection.
The Disaster Area Excavation Directorate teams, which was established by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to save valuable cultural assets found in the wreckage of registered buildings immediately after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes that occurred on February 6, started a rescue operation in the church on Hürriyet Street.
Emphasizing the importance of the church, Arslan said, "The church is an important registration asset. In the first place, there were many liturgical artifacts, including icons. We removed these materials safely from the area where they were found with our teammates. We will return the found artifacts to the church's foundation representatives".
Arslan underlined that they worked meticulously during the rescue of historical artifacts from the rubble.
Noting that the artifacts unearthed from the wreckage are valuable for the church, Arslan recorded the following:
"There are very important scenes among the unearthed icons. The icons, which have important scenes such as the ascension of the Virgin Mary, the moment of entry into Jerusalem, the baptism of Jesus Christ, and the Pantocrator (an impressive scene in which Jesus Christ is depicted), have been saved from the rubble. In addition to this, we also unearthed many religious books, including oil lamps, and other liturgical valuable materials, especially the manuscript Bible. These were immediately after the cleaning and documentation work required in our excavation house warehouse, which we created for a temporary period. It will be re-delivered to the relevant units through the Archaeological Museum."
SOURCE:
https://www.arkeolojikhaber.com/haber-antakya-rum-ortodoks-kilisesi-enkazindan-11-ikona-kurtarildi-36569/
