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SHARJAH RULER FUNDS REPAIRS TO HISTORIC ARMENIAN MONASTERY
Transitions on Line, Czech Rep.
Nov 26 2013
A once-dilapidated medieval Armenian Orthodox monastery has just
undergone much-needed renovation work courtesy of an unlikely
benefactor - an Arab sheikh.
The Haghartsin monastery complex, about 100 kilometers (60 miles)
northeast of Yerevan, dates to the 10th century and includes three
churches as well as rooms for the 250 monks who once lived there.
Neither Arab and Turkish armies nor Soviet anti-religious campaigns
managed to destroy the monastery, but it seemed likely to fall victim
to the ravages of time.
That was until Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah in the
United Arab Emirates, visited Armenia in 2005 on a trip organized by
Armenia's then-president, Robert Kocharian, and Armenian businessmen
in the Emirates, AFP reports. When the sheikh's tour came to the
crumbling monastery, considered a masterpiece of Armenian religious
architecture, al-Qasimi was impressed by the spiritual character of
the place and said "the word of God was heard" there, according to
church candle seller Artak Sahakyan.
According to the Hayastan All Armenian Fund, al-Qasimi donated
$1.7 million to the restoration in 2008. The repair work included
refurbishment of the bell tower, installation of modern utilities,
and repaving access roads.
"I cannot recall anything similar to this happening in our history,
that some Arab sheikh, a Muslim, helped to restore and rescue an
Armenian Christian church," Armenian priest Aristakes Aivazyan
told AFP.
"It is as if the with this generous gesture the sheikh is saying that
we need to be tolerant of other religions, as in the end we all serve
one God," Aivazyan added.
http://www.tol.org/client/article/24063-eurovision-plotters-sentenced-in-baku-experts-probe-cause-of-riga-store-collapse.html
Transitions on Line, Czech Rep.
Nov 26 2013
A once-dilapidated medieval Armenian Orthodox monastery has just
undergone much-needed renovation work courtesy of an unlikely
benefactor - an Arab sheikh.
The Haghartsin monastery complex, about 100 kilometers (60 miles)
northeast of Yerevan, dates to the 10th century and includes three
churches as well as rooms for the 250 monks who once lived there.
Neither Arab and Turkish armies nor Soviet anti-religious campaigns
managed to destroy the monastery, but it seemed likely to fall victim
to the ravages of time.
That was until Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah in the
United Arab Emirates, visited Armenia in 2005 on a trip organized by
Armenia's then-president, Robert Kocharian, and Armenian businessmen
in the Emirates, AFP reports. When the sheikh's tour came to the
crumbling monastery, considered a masterpiece of Armenian religious
architecture, al-Qasimi was impressed by the spiritual character of
the place and said "the word of God was heard" there, according to
church candle seller Artak Sahakyan.
According to the Hayastan All Armenian Fund, al-Qasimi donated
$1.7 million to the restoration in 2008. The repair work included
refurbishment of the bell tower, installation of modern utilities,
and repaving access roads.
"I cannot recall anything similar to this happening in our history,
that some Arab sheikh, a Muslim, helped to restore and rescue an
Armenian Christian church," Armenian priest Aristakes Aivazyan
told AFP.
"It is as if the with this generous gesture the sheikh is saying that
we need to be tolerant of other religions, as in the end we all serve
one God," Aivazyan added.
http://www.tol.org/client/article/24063-eurovision-plotters-sentenced-in-baku-experts-probe-cause-of-riga-store-collapse.html