Armenian Community In Rostov Condemns Church Desecration

ArmRadio.am
03.08.2006 13:31

Armenian intellectuals and community leaders condemned the desecration
of Holy Cross Armenian Church in Rostov, Russia, and an attempt to
burn down the Russian-Armenian friendship situated inside the church.

Unknown assailants Monday reportedly desecrated the temple and tried to
burn it. Failing to enter the church they broke and burnt the windows
and sprayed the slogans "white justice has come" and "Russia is for
Russians" on the church walls.

A meeting was held Tuesday at the Armenian Consulate General in
the Southern Russian, during which Consul General Ararat Gomtsian
condemned the act of vandalism and read a message directed to the town
and provincial authorities, as well as to law-enforcement bodies. The
message demands that the persons responsible for this be found and
punished.

The Russian-Armenian Yerkramas newspaper reported that the director of
the Rostov regional monuments protection agency Alexander Kozhin said
"the desecration of historic monuments is terrible." He added that
the Holy Cross Church was the only architectural monument in Rostov
that date back to the 18th century, Armenpress reported.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress