ISTANBUL (Combined Sources) — Another Armenian church in Istanbul, Turkey, has been vandalized with anti-Armenian graffiti, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople announced on Facebook.
Vandals spray painted hate messages in English and Arabic on the exterior wall of the Surp Hreshdagabet Armenian Church in the neighborhood of Balat on Saturday, February 23.
The local council members reported the matter to Archbishop Aram Ateshian as well as the local police.
This is not the first incident in which Armenian institutions have been the target of graffiti and vandalism in Istanbul in recent years.
Only last week, the walls of the Armenian Surp Astvadzadzin Church in Istanbul’s Zeinlink district were covered with hate graffiti.
In April 2018 photos of graffiti reading “This homeland is ours” spray-painted on the exterior wall of the Armenian Surp Takavor Church and a pile of trash was dumped in front of the church’s door began.