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ARMENIAN, GEORGIAN CHURCH LEADERS REACH IMPASSE
asbarez
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
Karekin II and Ilia II in Georgia
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-The spiritual leaders of Armenia and Georgia have
failed to reach any concrete agreements on disputes between their
state-backed churches after nearly one week of negotiations held
during Catholicos Karekin II's visit to Georgia.
The supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church and
Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox Church publicly
disagreed on the main sticking points as they wrapped up the talks
late on Wednesday.
Karekin II began the trip last Friday in the hope of convincing
Georgia's political and religious leadership to grant an official
status to the Georgia Diocese of the Armenian Church and return
several churches in and outside Tbilisi to the latter. Karekin II's
office said after his weekend meeting with Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili that the Georgian side agreed to register the diocese and
pledged to preserve the churches "until their return to the diocese."
However, no agreements or joint declarations were signed as a result.
Speaking to journalists in Georgia's Javakheti region mostly populated
by ethnic Armenians, the two pontiffs said they failed to work out
a mutually acceptable document. "I think that we are saying the same
things but with different wordings," said Ilia.
Ilia insisted that the Armenian Church should gain official recognition
in Georgia only if the Georgian Church is granted the same status in
Armenia. Karekin II countered that Armenia's small ethnic Georgian
community, numbering less than 1,000 people, never applied for such a
status. He argued that Armenian law provides for the easy registration
of religious minorities.
Contradicting Saakashvili's assurances reportedly given to Karekin II,
Ilia also stated that "Armenian churches will be repaired in case
of the restoration of Georgian churches in Armenia." "If Georgia
restores Armenian churches, then Armenia must repair and preserve
Georgian churches as well," he said.
The elderly patriarch referred to several medieval and mostly abandoned
churches located in Armenia's northern Lori province. The area was
for centuries controlled by Georgian kings through their Armenian
vassals. Some of those noble families were members of the Georgian
Church.
The Armenian Church disputes Georgian claims to these worship sites,
saying that they were built and always used by Armenian adherents of
the Greek Orthodox faith.
"Of course, restoration of historical monuments must be an obligation
of the two states, but one must first of all ascertain their origin,"
said Karekin II.
Asked by RFE/RL's Armenian service whether the Georgian Church is ready
to substantiate its claims with documentary evidence, Ilia replied,
"Yes, we are ready."
The Georgian Church proposed that the two sides form a joint commission
of scholars and historians for that purpose. The proposal was not
accepted by Karekin II.
"We replied that they should first present necessary facts as to
what exactly the commission should investigate," said the Armenian
Catholicos. "An appropriate decision [on whether to set up such a body]
would be made after that."
Both religious leaders stressed that the two churches will continue
to seek a negotiated solution to these disputes.
asbarez
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
Karekin II and Ilia II in Georgia
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-The spiritual leaders of Armenia and Georgia have
failed to reach any concrete agreements on disputes between their
state-backed churches after nearly one week of negotiations held
during Catholicos Karekin II's visit to Georgia.
The supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church and
Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of the Georgian Orthodox Church publicly
disagreed on the main sticking points as they wrapped up the talks
late on Wednesday.
Karekin II began the trip last Friday in the hope of convincing
Georgia's political and religious leadership to grant an official
status to the Georgia Diocese of the Armenian Church and return
several churches in and outside Tbilisi to the latter. Karekin II's
office said after his weekend meeting with Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili that the Georgian side agreed to register the diocese and
pledged to preserve the churches "until their return to the diocese."
However, no agreements or joint declarations were signed as a result.
Speaking to journalists in Georgia's Javakheti region mostly populated
by ethnic Armenians, the two pontiffs said they failed to work out
a mutually acceptable document. "I think that we are saying the same
things but with different wordings," said Ilia.
Ilia insisted that the Armenian Church should gain official recognition
in Georgia only if the Georgian Church is granted the same status in
Armenia. Karekin II countered that Armenia's small ethnic Georgian
community, numbering less than 1,000 people, never applied for such a
status. He argued that Armenian law provides for the easy registration
of religious minorities.
Contradicting Saakashvili's assurances reportedly given to Karekin II,
Ilia also stated that "Armenian churches will be repaired in case
of the restoration of Georgian churches in Armenia." "If Georgia
restores Armenian churches, then Armenia must repair and preserve
Georgian churches as well," he said.
The elderly patriarch referred to several medieval and mostly abandoned
churches located in Armenia's northern Lori province. The area was
for centuries controlled by Georgian kings through their Armenian
vassals. Some of those noble families were members of the Georgian
Church.
The Armenian Church disputes Georgian claims to these worship sites,
saying that they were built and always used by Armenian adherents of
the Greek Orthodox faith.
"Of course, restoration of historical monuments must be an obligation
of the two states, but one must first of all ascertain their origin,"
said Karekin II.
Asked by RFE/RL's Armenian service whether the Georgian Church is ready
to substantiate its claims with documentary evidence, Ilia replied,
"Yes, we are ready."
The Georgian Church proposed that the two sides form a joint commission
of scholars and historians for that purpose. The proposal was not
accepted by Karekin II.
"We replied that they should first present necessary facts as to
what exactly the commission should investigate," said the Armenian
Catholicos. "An appropriate decision [on whether to set up such a body]
would be made after that."
Both religious leaders stressed that the two churches will continue
to seek a negotiated solution to these disputes.