THE MASSACRE OF ARMENIAN CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL HERITAGE IN GEORGIA
CONTINUES IN THE SPIRIT OF THE ULTRA-NATIONALIST GAMSAKHURDIA
Azg/arm
10 March 05
What else can one call these acts of vandalism? And when will a
nightmare that has swept over Georgia for the last decades and gained
new momentum in the past 17 years finally end?
In Christian Georgia today, in the Kakheti region famous for its
mild climate and good wine, unique Armenian Khatshkars are being
destroyed. A Georgian monk does not hide his intentions of destroying
the stone with the Armenian inscriptions on of the churches of the
century old Armenian ecclesiastical complex of Gremi, Kakheti, and
states that the Armenian Church in the complex will be renovated
according to Georgian faith. Regrettably, many Georgian priests
mistakenly confound ultra-nationalism and vandalism with patriotism.
Our photographer was looking in vain for three unique Khatshkars of
the 14th century on the façade of one of the Churches inside the
Gremi complex. And his face turned white, as he remembered how he had
himself photographed the Khatshkars well in place some 12 years ago.
Now they are gone, just like many other Armenian Khatshkars from the
12th to the 17th century, which were destroyed in the ecclesiastical
complex of Gremi.
Today the complex is closed to the public. It is being “renovated”. A
Georgian monastery is located inside. The monks are busy with
beekeeping and the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage.
It is saddening that while the “patriots” are destroying a unique
Armenian cultural heritage, they do not realise that they are
at the same time annihilating their own history and, moreover,
an all-Christian heritage which reaches far beyond the realm of
national importance.
Gremi, the former capital of the Kingdom of Kakheti is located on the
left bank of the river Alazan. It became the capital of Kakheti in
the year 1466. Armenians played an important role in the development
of the town, as the business and trades were in their hands. The
town blossomed and developed further until the onset of the 17th
century, before the devastating Persian invasions in 1614-1616 led
by Sheikh Abasa. Many historical documents still tell of this era
and the Armenian presence in Gremi, as cited by the historian Arakel
Davrijetsi, and witness accounts collected by the Russian Embassy in
the year 1640.
Armenian Diocese in Georgia
–Boundary_(ID_A8z/zlNIl77GVccFvoL4RQ)–