PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  +374-10-517163
Fax:  +374-10-517301
E-Mail:  ktrij@etchmiadzin.am
Website: 
March 27, 2007

Holy Etchmiadzin Will Not Send Delegation to Aghtamar

An invitation to participate in the opening ceremonies of the Church of the
Holy Cross on the island of Aghtamar (Lake Van), scheduled for March 29,
from Governor of Van Mehmet Niyazi Tanilir addressed to His Holiness Karekin
II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, was received in the
Mother See via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin will not participate in the ceremonies
after having considered that the Holy Cross Armenian Church, recently
renovated by the Turkish authorities, will not operate as a church under the
spiritual authority of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and
instead will be designated as a museum; and that the opening ceremonies will
be conducted solely with a secular program and not in accord with the
canonical rites of the Holy Apostolic Armenian Church.

In this new century, when there is a universal desire for mutual
understanding and collaboration between peoples, as well as in the context
of dialogue between religions and cultures, this action of the Turkish
authorities against the pious Christian beliefs and emotions of the Armenian
people cannot be perceived as a positive step on the path of bringing the
two nations closer.