The two-year $1.9 million restoration of the
Surb Khach Church, one of the most outstanding examples of 10th Century Orthodox Christian architecture, is a welcome gesture of religious tolerance by the Republic of Turkey, a nation that is considered by the International Religious Freedom Report (2006), released by the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, as a "violator of international laws by imposing restrictions on religious groups and on religious expression." Turkey's decision, however, not to place (re-place) a cross on the apex of the church's octagonal dome and to confine its usage to that of a museum, reveals that the country has no intention of significantly changing its attitudes towards religious minorities living within its boundaries.