ROC DOESN’T MEDDLE WITH KARABAKH CONFLICT

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2010 11:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia stands for a
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict but does not find
it expedient to speak of Karabakh status, said monk Philip (Ryabykh),
deputy chairman of the external relations of The Moscow Patriarchate.

"The final resolution of the conflict is within competence of political
leaders who are responsible for peaceful life of Caucasian nations. The
ROC never interfered in this political conflict, which damaged the
lives of ordinary people – Armenians and Azerbaijanis," he said.

He also informed that the congregation of the Russian Orthodox Church
in Nagorno Karabakh counts 600 people. "A ROC parish was registered
in Stepanakert with the assistance of the Armenian Apostolic Church,"
Monk Philip said, Interfax-Religion reported.

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) or The Moscow Patriarchate is a body
of Christians who constitute an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church
under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow, in communion with
the other Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox
churches in the world and second only to the Roman Catholic Church
among Christian churches, numbering over 135 million members world
wide and growing numerically since late 1980s. Up to 65% of ethnic
Russians and a significant number of Belarusians and Ukrainians
identify themselves as "Orthodox". According to the data made public
December 12, 2008, the Church had 157 dioceses including 29,263
parishes served by 203 bishops (another 14 are on retirement),
27,216 priests and 3,454 deacons; there were 804 monasteries,
including 478 in the Russian Federation (another 25 are within the
ROCOR jurisdiction), 87 theological schools, including 5 theological
academies and 38 seminaries.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world’s oldest National Church
and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the
first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301
AD, in establishing this church. The Armenian Apostolic Church traces
its origins to the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in
the 1st century.

The official name of the Church is the One Holy Universal Apostolic
Orthodox Armenian Church. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the
central religious authority for the Armenian Orthodox population in
the Republic of Armenia as well as for Armenian Orthodox communities
worldwide. It is headed by a Catholicos. Although it is traditional
in Eastern churches for the supreme head of the church to be named
Patriarch, in the Armenian Apostolic Church hierarchy, the position
of the Catholicos is higher than that of the Patriarch. The Armenian
Apostolic Church presently has two catholicoi (His Holiness Karekin
II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; and Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia), and two patriarchs,
plus Primates, Archbishops and Bishops, lower clergy and laity
serving the church. The Catholicos of All Armenians represents the
centralized authority of the Armenian Church. He is the supreme judge
and the head of the legislative body. He is President of the Supreme
Spiritual Council as well as the College of Bishops. Ordination of
bishops, blessing of Holy Chrism, proclamation of Feasts, invitation
and dismissal of National-Ecclesiastical Assemblies, issuing decrees
concerning the administration of the Armenian Church and establishing
dioceses are part of his responsibilities. Both clergy and lay are
involved in the administrative structure of the Church.

Led by His Holiness Karekin II, the spiritual and administrative work
of the Armenian Church is carried out in the Republic of Armenia in
the areas of Religion, Preparation of Clergy, Christian Education,
Construction of new Churches, Social Services, and Ecumenical
activities. Underneath this administrative structure are the hierarchal
Sees: The Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia located in
Antelias, Lebanon, is a regional See with current jurisdiction of the
Dioceses of Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus as temporarily granted to her by
the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in 1929, is led by Catholicos
Aram I.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem which has jurisdiction over
all of the Holy Lands and the Diocese of Jordan, is led by Patriarch
Archbishop Torgom Manoogian.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and All of Turkey, which
has jurisdiction in the modern day Republic of Turkey, is led by
Patriarch Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan.

The three historic aforementioned hierarchal sees administer to
the Dioceses under their jurisdiction as they see fit, however,
the supremacy of the Catholicosate of All Armenians in all spiritual
matters remains pre-eminent.

In addition to the responsibilities of overseeing their respective
Dioceses, each hierarchical See, and the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin, has a Monastic Brotherhood.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic
located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north
and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west.

After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923
it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the
Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan
launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that
was fought from 1991 to 1994.

Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several
regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the
control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated
by the OSCE Minsk Group.