ARMENIAN CHURCH JOINS IN CONDEMNING ‘DA VINCI CODE’

Agence France Presse — English
May 23, 2006 Tuesday 2:27 PM GMT

Armenia’s Apostolic Church on Tuesday added its voice to worldwide
religious condemnations of the film “The Da Vinci Code”, calling on
Armenians to boycott the blockbuster and the book it is based on.

“The book by Dan Brown is disrespectful in regard to a sacred part of
Christianity and insults the feelings of believers,” Church spokesman
Vagram Melikian told AFP.

“It contradicts the Bible and distorts Christian truths,” he said.

“The Da Vinci Code”, based on a best-selling novel of the same name by
US writer Brown, centres on a theory that Jesus Christ fathered a child
with Mary Magdalene, and that the Roman Catholic Church covered it up.

Since the film’s release last week, it has sparked protests from
Christian and Muslim groups in numerous countries, some of which have
banned it.

“We cannot ban the film. That is done by individuals, whom we call
on not to show the film on (cinema) screens in Armenia,” Melikian
said, adding that Armenia “made Christianity the state religion 1,700
years ago.”