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WikiLeaks: Catholicos tells US Ambassador he is open to dialogue on churches
14:02 - 03.09.11
Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II told the US ambassador earlier
this year that the Armenian Apostolic (AAC) is willing to participate
in a joint commission with the Georgian Orthodox Church to discuss the
historical ownership of a number of disputed churches in the country.
According to a WikiLeaks-leaked confidential cable disclosing the
details of a February 17 conversation between Ambassador Marie
Yovanovich and Garegin II, the Armenian patriarch expressed
willingness to include in the discussion churches claimed by the
Georgians in Armenia. He told the Ambassador that she could share the
information with Embassy Tbilisi.
"The Catholicos expressed frustration over the condition of churches
claimed by the AAC in Georgia. The Catholicos said that many of these
churches are in danger of collapse, (and in fact the St. Gevork of
Mughni Armenian church did collapse last November (ref B)), but
because the churches are owned by the Government of Georgia (GOG), the
AAC is unable to undertake restoration work to prevent their further
deterioration. The Catholicos said the AAC owns only two churches in
Tbilisi: St. Gevork, which serves as the seat of the Diocese, and Holy
Etchmiadzin, where the AAC recently spent over $700,000 in
renovations. (Note: AAC "ownership" of these two churches is not in
the strictly legal sense, as there is no document conferring such
ownership. However, the two churches were the only Armenian churches
in Georgia allowed to operate during Soviet times, and the Georgian
authorities have continued to permit the AAC to use and refurbish them
since ndependence. End note.) He pointed out that ethnic Armenians in
Samtskhe-Javakheti use their own money to repair disputed churches and
then hold services in them, without asking for official permission.
The Catholicos considers
this an unsatisfactory - and risky - way of operating," Yovanovich
said in her message.
Tert.am
14:02 - 03.09.11
Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II told the US ambassador earlier
this year that the Armenian Apostolic (AAC) is willing to participate
in a joint commission with the Georgian Orthodox Church to discuss the
historical ownership of a number of disputed churches in the country.
According to a WikiLeaks-leaked confidential cable disclosing the
details of a February 17 conversation between Ambassador Marie
Yovanovich and Garegin II, the Armenian patriarch expressed
willingness to include in the discussion churches claimed by the
Georgians in Armenia. He told the Ambassador that she could share the
information with Embassy Tbilisi.
"The Catholicos expressed frustration over the condition of churches
claimed by the AAC in Georgia. The Catholicos said that many of these
churches are in danger of collapse, (and in fact the St. Gevork of
Mughni Armenian church did collapse last November (ref B)), but
because the churches are owned by the Government of Georgia (GOG), the
AAC is unable to undertake restoration work to prevent their further
deterioration. The Catholicos said the AAC owns only two churches in
Tbilisi: St. Gevork, which serves as the seat of the Diocese, and Holy
Etchmiadzin, where the AAC recently spent over $700,000 in
renovations. (Note: AAC "ownership" of these two churches is not in
the strictly legal sense, as there is no document conferring such
ownership. However, the two churches were the only Armenian churches
in Georgia allowed to operate during Soviet times, and the Georgian
authorities have continued to permit the AAC to use and refurbish them
since ndependence. End note.) He pointed out that ethnic Armenians in
Samtskhe-Javakheti use their own money to repair disputed churches and
then hold services in them, without asking for official permission.
The Catholicos considers
this an unsatisfactory - and risky - way of operating," Yovanovich
said in her message.
Tert.am