Return of Relics
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Tekor Village

General view of the remnants of Sourb Yerrordutiun (Holy Trinity) Church as of 1976, photo by J. Boll; 2000, photo by Samvel Karapetian.

For Media

For the latest updates on the "Return of Churches" Resolution (H.Res.306 / S.Res.392) or to set up interview opportunities with ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian or other experts on the persecution of Christians in Turkey / Turkey's confiscation of Christian Churches, please contact:

Elizabeth S. Chouldjian, ANCA Communications Director
elizabeth@anca.org / (703) 585-8254 cell / (202) 775-1918

Spearheaded by senior U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee member Ed Royce (R-CA) and the panel's Ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA), H.Res.306 was overwhelmingly adopted by the House of Representatives on December 13, 2011.

Similar legislation (S.Res.392) was introduced in the spearheaded in the Senate by Senators Mark Brown (R-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). It has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

This religious freedom resolution calls upon the government of Turkey to honor its international obligations to return confiscated Christian church properties and to fully respect the rights of Christians to practice their faiths in freedom.

This bipartisan effort to press Turkey to safeguard the Christian community and heritage within its present-day borders reflects America's enduring commitment to religious freedom, as so powerfully reaffirmed in the enactment by Congress of the International Religious Freedom Act, and represented, on the international stage, by America's leadership in supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Fact Sheets on the "Return of Churches" Amendment

The Resolution

Religious Persecution in Turkey

Confiscation of Christian Churches in Turkey