The Church of the Holy Seal built in 1703-1720 is situated in one of the oldest districts of Georgia. The dome of the church could have collapsed every day, it remained open and was rebuilt 60 years later in 1780. In 1928 the church was closed and was used later as a macaroni store and a bookstore.
“According to the Georgian press, in 2012, a Russian alcoholic set the church on fire, 9 fire trucks approached the church and emptied the whole water on it, destroying almost everything, engravings, inscriptions, Armenian proofs”, monument specialist Samvel Karapetyan stated today at Henaran Club. The topic of the press conference was “The issue of national belonging of the Church of the Holy Seal in Tbilisi.”
“After putting out the fire, the historical monument was not saved from the disaster, but faced a new disaster. The walls of the church completely cracked, the fire destroyed everything. The viewpoint of the Georgian delegation was the following that the church had been an old Georgian Orthodox church, but that fact is groundless, they have no proof. The demolition of the church was sponsored. The Georgian press feeds us with words and overloads with material that Armenians have attributed their churches, but I haven’t come across a case, when Armenians appropriated, if they have proofs, let them bring those and prove”, said Mr. Karapetyan nervously.
In response to a question whether the church was not saved, the monument specialist said, “The church is not saved, there is a terrible situation after the fire, they just got revenge. If there is foam, sand for putting out the fire, why did they flood the monument with nine-truck water, it is despicable.”
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In his words, Armenians don’t care for their memorials and spiritual heritage, “We just don’t care for the memorials of our ancestors much. The cleaning is almost over, the inside of the church was completely filled with litter, but only God knows whether it will be restored. Day by day huge injustice is done to our monuments; the ideas of getting rid of Armenian trace are spread. The Tbilisi press is full of venom toward Armenians; Georgians in booths ask ‘what’s up with Armenians?’ ”
Angela SHAHUMYAN
