CHURCH FOUNDATION LAYING CEREMONY
Aysor
May 25 2010
Armenia
The foundation laying ceremony of a church to be built took place on
May 22 in the Mets Masrik village of Gegharkunik Diocese, conducted
by Diocese leader, Bishop Markos Hovhannisyan. The village is an
ancient one.
According to the Gegharkunik Diocese press service, the village was
especially famous in XVI-XVII centuries when it became the royal
residence of Melik-Shahnazaryans. The village is also famous for its
fine ancient cross-stones.
Azeris made the majority among the village population in the Soviet
years. Armenians immigrated from Azerbaijan settled in the village
in the late 1990s. Today the village has a population of nearly 4
000 people.
The church construction is carried out under the aegis of Ararat
Asatryan, a clergyman who is from the village of Mets Masrik by birth.
Rafik Hergnyan is the author of the architectural project of the
church.
From: A. Papazian