SUPREME SPIRITUAL COUNCIL STATEMENT ON COLLAPSE OF ST. GEVORK OF MUGHNI ARMENIAN CHURCH IN GEORGIA
armradio.am
24.11.2009 11:25
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, presided during a meeting of the Supreme Spiritual Council
in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Discussed during the meeting
was the collapse of the St. Gevork of Mughni Armenian Church in the
Diocese of Georgia. At the end of the meeting, the following statement
was released:
The Supreme Spiritual Council regrets to confirm that the St. Gevork
of Mughni Armenian Church (built in 1356) in Tbilisi, Georgia,
has collapsed.
The Supreme Spiritual Council regretfully states that years of
effort on the part of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the
authorities of the Republic of Armenia, to regulate the legal standing
of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia and secure the return of Armenian
churches, through dialogue with the authorities of the Republic of
Georgia and the Georgian Orthodox Church, were unsuccessful. The
collapse of the St. Gevork of Mughni Armenian Church is only one of
the consequences of the unwarranted delays exhibited by the Georgian
side in the handling of the aforementioned issues. The authorities of
the Republic of Georgia and the Georgian Orthodox Church are wholly
responsible for the collapse of the church.
The indifference exhibited by the Georgian state toward the
preservation of Armenian holy sites does not correspond in any way
with: 1) the establishment of good neighborly relations, 2) fidelity to
universal human values, 3) respect for the rights of ethnic minorities,
4) the constant statements made by the Georgian state regarding the
preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of their ethnic
minorities, and 5) the Georgian state’s acceptance of responsibilities
before the international community.
The Supreme Spiritual Council calls on the authorities of the Republic
of Georgia and the Georgian Orthodox Church to immediately implement
steps to grant legal status to the Armenian Diocese of Georgia and
to return the Armenian churches in Georgia to the Armenian Diocese
of Georgia for the normal functioning of national-ecclesiastical
life for the Georgian-Armenian community and the safe preservation
of Armenian holy sites.