The Mor Samuel (Shmuel) Church, located in the Anıtlı (previously known as the “Hah”) village in the Midyat district of the southeastern province of Mardin, hosted its first religious ceremony in the last 60 years on Oct. 15.

“Mor Samuel Church has been among the places in which the deeds were given back with a legal regulation carried out by the cabinet. After receiving the deeds, we stepped up efforts to open places to worship again, as restoration and repair works had been pending for years. So, we have opened the church dating back to the fifth century located in Midyat’s Hah village to worship,” said Koryakus Ergün, head of the Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation.

The church was closed for 60 years and has been the fourth church to open for worship in a year, he added.

More: First prayer at 1,500-year-old Mor Samuel Church after 60 years