DOORS OF ARMENIAN CHURCH SURB NORASHEN IN TBILISI OPENED BEFORE ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER
ArmInfo
2008-12-10 09:31:00
ArmInfo. On December 9, representatives of the Armenian community
in Tbilisi opened the doors of the Surb Norashen Church before the
Armenian prime minister and Armenian delegation, afterwards the
Lord’s Prayer was read. As ArmInfo special correspondent reported,
one had to literally break the doors to enter the church.
Head of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC),
Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan expressed confidence that thanks to joint
efforts the given church will return to the fold of the AAC Georgian
Diocese. In May 2008 representatives of the Georgian Orthodox Church
erected a metallic fence with Georgian church attributes around the
Surb Norashen Church, which was built in the 15th century and in the
30s of the 20th century closed and turned into a book depositary. In
1994 attempts were made to turn the St.Norashen Church into a Georgian
church, however, this didn’t happen thanks to big efforts.
"Today candles were put in this church for the first time over the
last 70 years. Our people have waited for this minute for a long time,
and the doors were opened by the grace of God",- Bishop Mirzakhanyan
said. He expressed confidence that the Armenian prime minister’s visit
will play a serious role in the settlement of the problem. "We hope
that our brothers, the Georgian people, the government of Georgia and
the Georgian Orthodox Church, will be able to solve this problem for
the sake of our friendship," Mirzakhanyan said.
Presently, Surb Norashen Church is in a deplorable state. For many
years it has been closed. Its interior is seriously damaged. "We hope
that some day the church will be restored," Mirzakhanyan said.
To note, Tbilisi is home to 100,000 Armenians, it has 5 Armenian
churches but only 2 are active.
To remind, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the Armenian delegation
comprising Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan, Minister of Economy
Nerses Yeritsyan, Minister of Energy Armen Movsissyan, Minister of
Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, Deputy Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjyan
and Deputy Minister of Agriculture Levon Rukhkyan took part in the
7th meeting of the Armenian-Georgian inter-governmental commission on
economic cooperation and visited the cemetery of outstanding Armenian
writers and public figures.
Sargsyan met with President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili.