Armenian church in Syrian village damaged in quake

The Armenian village of Al-Yacoubiyah in north-west Syria, including its St. Anna Church, suffered damages in Monday’s devastating earthquake, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia reported on Thursday.

His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia was deeply saddened to learn about the destruction in Yacoubiyah village. St. Anna, being a historical church, has become a place of pilgrimage for the Armenian people, it said.

Aram I established contact with Bishop Magar Ashekian, the leader of the Armenian Church Prelacy of Peria, and community officials, and was informed in detail about the difficult situation the local Armenian residents have found themselves in.