21 November 2009, 17:00
Armenian clergy accuses Georgia of indifference to Armenian relics
In the context of the recent collapse of the Church Surb Gevorg in Tbilisi, erected in 1356, the Supreme See of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) has accused the authorities of Georgia of indifference to preservation of the Armenian relics located in this country.
The Supreme Spiritual Board - an advisory body consisting of the clergy and laymen, working under the Supreme Pontiff of the AAC, has ascertained "with great regret", at its sitting held under presidency of Catholicos Garegin the Second, that "the long-term efforts of the authorities of Armenia and the Supreme See of Sacred Echmiadzin to settle through negotiations with the authorities of Georgia and the Georgian Orthodox Church the issue of the status of the AAC Eparchy in this country as a legal entity and return of the Armenian temples in Georgia back to the AAC have failed", as reported by the ITAR-TASS Agency.
The "Armenia Today" reports that the Board has called the authorities of Georgia and the Georgian Orthodox Church to take immediate measures to grant the status of a legal entity to the AAC Eparchy in Georgia and return the Armenian churches, located in Georgia to this Eparchy, in order to organize a normal national-religious life of Georgian Armenians and reliable preservation of Armenian relics.
Nothing has been reported so far about Georgia's reaction to the charges announced by the officials of the Armenian clergy.
