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TURKEY'S ARMENIANS SUPRISED BY ETCHMIADZIN AKDAMAR NO-SHOW
Hurriyet Daily News
Sept 6 2010
Turkey
The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul is surprised that the spiritual
center of the Armenian Apostolic Church has rejected an invitation
to attend a historic service on Van's Akdamar Island on Sept. 19,
Istanbul's deputy patriarch said Monday.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the headquarters of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, changed its decision after learning that no cross
had been affixed to the top of the Surp Hac (Holy Cross) Church in
the eastern province ahead of the service.
"I still believe that they will participate," said Istanbul Deputy
Patriarch and Archbishop Aram AteÅ~_yan, adding that he had not yet
received any official information from Etchmiadzin.
"But if they retreat [from their earlier decision to attend], there
is nothing I can do but respect their decision. In this service I
would like to mark our church's unity," he said.
"We had decided to send two spiritual leaders to the service because
we were told that the cross would be put over the top of the church's
dome for the ceremony. But Turkey did not honor its word and we learned
that the cross would not be placed," Bishop Sebouh Chouldjian, primate
of the Church's Diocese of Gougark, told the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review on Monday.
"It is claimed that the cross will not be placed on the dome. However,
a promise has been made to the Patriarchate. If it does not happen for
the service, it would absolutely be placed just after it," AteÅ~_yan
said, criticizing debates in Armenia and the diaspora over the lack
of a cross.
Turkish Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay told the Daily News last
Sunday that despite the possibility of delays due to work on the
country's constitutional referendum on Sept. 12, the cross would be
placed on the dome.
Journalist Levon Barseghyan, the head of the Journalist Club Asbarez
in Gyumri, Armenia, criticized the decision of the Etchmiadzin,
saying he found the move extremely political.
"Unfortunately the Etchmiadzin deals more with political matters than
fulfilling its spiritual duty. Etchmiadzin has long been a place for
politics rather than being a religious center," he said.
People have not given credit to calls in Armenia to boycott the
service, said Barseghyan. "If I weren't in another country for work,
I would attend the service, no doubt."
Political scientist and author Manvel Sargsyan also criticized
Etchmiadzin for dealing with politics, criticizing the calls for
people to avoid the service.
"They should leave people to their own will. Etchmiadzin should take
care of its own business and remain away from politics," he said.
The Surp Hac Church in the eastern province of Van has been a subject
of debate in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora because it was opened
as a museum and no cross was placed on its dome. Turkish and Armenian
experts restored the church in 2007 at the initiative of Atilla Koc,
the culture minister at that time. The church then opened as a museum.
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet Daily News
Sept 6 2010
Turkey
The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul is surprised that the spiritual
center of the Armenian Apostolic Church has rejected an invitation
to attend a historic service on Van's Akdamar Island on Sept. 19,
Istanbul's deputy patriarch said Monday.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the headquarters of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, changed its decision after learning that no cross
had been affixed to the top of the Surp Hac (Holy Cross) Church in
the eastern province ahead of the service.
"I still believe that they will participate," said Istanbul Deputy
Patriarch and Archbishop Aram AteÅ~_yan, adding that he had not yet
received any official information from Etchmiadzin.
"But if they retreat [from their earlier decision to attend], there
is nothing I can do but respect their decision. In this service I
would like to mark our church's unity," he said.
"We had decided to send two spiritual leaders to the service because
we were told that the cross would be put over the top of the church's
dome for the ceremony. But Turkey did not honor its word and we learned
that the cross would not be placed," Bishop Sebouh Chouldjian, primate
of the Church's Diocese of Gougark, told the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review on Monday.
"It is claimed that the cross will not be placed on the dome. However,
a promise has been made to the Patriarchate. If it does not happen for
the service, it would absolutely be placed just after it," AteÅ~_yan
said, criticizing debates in Armenia and the diaspora over the lack
of a cross.
Turkish Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay told the Daily News last
Sunday that despite the possibility of delays due to work on the
country's constitutional referendum on Sept. 12, the cross would be
placed on the dome.
Journalist Levon Barseghyan, the head of the Journalist Club Asbarez
in Gyumri, Armenia, criticized the decision of the Etchmiadzin,
saying he found the move extremely political.
"Unfortunately the Etchmiadzin deals more with political matters than
fulfilling its spiritual duty. Etchmiadzin has long been a place for
politics rather than being a religious center," he said.
People have not given credit to calls in Armenia to boycott the
service, said Barseghyan. "If I weren't in another country for work,
I would attend the service, no doubt."
Political scientist and author Manvel Sargsyan also criticized
Etchmiadzin for dealing with politics, criticizing the calls for
people to avoid the service.
"They should leave people to their own will. Etchmiadzin should take
care of its own business and remain away from politics," he said.
The Surp Hac Church in the eastern province of Van has been a subject
of debate in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora because it was opened
as a museum and no cross was placed on its dome. Turkish and Armenian
experts restored the church in 2007 at the initiative of Atilla Koc,
the culture minister at that time. The church then opened as a museum.
From: A. Papazian