ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH SENT CONDEMNING NOTE TO GEORGIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.11.2008 18:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The problem of possession of Armenian churches in
Georgia date back to 1994. Presently, the Armenian Apostolic Church
owns 2 churches, while the problem with Norashen remains unsettled,
said a spokesman for Holy Echmiadzin.

"Georgia doesn’t have a law on religion and this is why all church and
religious organizations were offered to register as legal entities. The
Georgian Diocese of the AAC doesn’t have a legal status and therefore
we are not the owners of the Armenian churches in Georgia," father
Vahram Melikyan told a news conference today.

"Encroachments on Norashen Armenian Church started in 1994. The
GOC kept on assuring us that an admissible solution will be found,"
he said.

He also informed that this morning the AAC Supreme Council sent a
note to the Georgian Orthodox Church.

On November 16, Georgian monk Tariel Sikinchelashvili instructed
workers to raze to the ground the graves of Mikhail and Lidia
Tamamshev.

This barbarian act outraged Armenians, who demanded to let the graves
in their place. However, Father Tariel responded with harsh statements.

Upon arrival of representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church and
parliament member Van Bayburt, the Georgian monk said he just wanted
to replace the gravestones to "clean under them."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress