Supreme clergy of Armenia worried with encroachments on Armenian temples in Georgia

The Supreme Spiritual Assembly of the Armenian Apostolic Church has expressed concern of recent facts of encroachment on the Armenian churches located in Georgia.

We remind you that members of the Armenian community in Georgia have disseminated an open letter demanding to take resolute measures aimed to stop destruction in Georgia of historical and cultural heritage of the Armenian nation and infringements of the constitutional rights of Armenian nationals living in Georgia.

"The Supreme Spiritual Assembly is deeply worried with encroachments against the Georgian Eparchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian churches in Georgia, condemns the steps undermining the Christian spirit and friendship of fraternal nations," says the statement adopted yesterday, on November 28, during the sitting of the Supreme Spiritual Assembly.

According to Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, due to the fact that Georgian authorities and the Georgian Church are disregarding the appeals of the Cathedral Church of Saint Echmiadzin, the Sacred Armenian Apostolic Church will continue to draw attention of the international community to this problem "with a kind hope that through our common efforts we shall succeed in beneficial settlement of the problems in the national and religious life of Georgian Armenians," the "News-Armenia" Agency reports.

In its turn, the international organization on researches in Armenian architecture (RAA) suggests that the public of Armenia address the international agencies in charge of protecting cultural heritage with an appeal to stop "Georgianization" of Armenian churches, the "Blagovest-Info" reports.

According to this public organization, as of 1995, there were 650 Armenian churches in the territory of Georgia; part of them are either destroyed or captured today.

We remind you that according to Vazgen Mirzakhanyan "the Georgian Church has always attempted on Armenian territories, and the desire to appropriate them remains irrepressible."