The thousand-year-old Armenian church in the village of Ergen (Kechimli) in the Khozat district of Dersim (Tunceli) in Turkey, known as the Ergen Church, has fallen into a state of ruin due to neglect.
In 2012, the Erzurum Cultural Heritage Preservation Council accepted the petition submitted by the Tunceli provincial culture and tourism directorate regarding the need to preserve the church, but to this day no work has been carried out toward the church’s preservation or reconstruction.
The Ergen Church was built in 975. Certain Armenian inscriptions are still preserved on the interior sections of the church’s walls. The Ergen Church is considered one of the largest and oldest Armenian churches in Dersim. During the Genocide, the last priest of Ergen was burned and killed inside the church. The church has not functioned since 1915.
