“I am not aware of the details about the sale of the church, however, I do not rule out that this was a kind of message to Armenia. The influence of the church on the public and naturally on the government authorities in Georgia is very big” says the Director for the Center of “Partnership for Democracy”, Stepan Danielyan, in conversation with Aravot.am, referring to the recent information about Armenian-Georgian relations, according to which Georgia is selling Armenian churches to Turkey, and the same time noting the decisive role of the Georgian Church during the last elections.
“In general, the partnership of the two countries’ churches may have a positive impact on the Armenian-Georgian relations, especially when they are not in a pretty good shape today. Especially when the relationships between the two Patriarchs failed. We all know about the debates around the churches, as well as the upset of the Armenian side with the Georgian authorities and the church involvement regarding the Centennial of the Genocide, in response to which Tbilisi made a move accusing Armenia of the meeting of Galust Sahakyan with the Speaker of Ossetia,” said Mr. Stepanyan.
To our observation about which of the two countries specifically escalated the relations, Mr. Stepanyan replied, “It does not matter who is more guilty, we have our position and Georgians – theirs, the problem is that our church bears a responsibility for Armenians living in Georgia, while the Georgian church does not bear such a responsibility, in this respect, our church should make certain efforts for the improvement of relations. We can view it in the symbolic sphere, Armenia’s Constitution states the exclusive role of the Armenian Church in the life of the Armenian people, while the Georgian constitution states the exclusive role of the Georgian church in the life of Georgia. The role of their church is emphasized within the borders of Georgia, while the role of our church is emphasized in the life of the entire people, regardless of the borders. In this sense, the Armenian church should make efforts to improve the welfare of Armenians living in Georgia. Let’s put the geopolitical matters aside and be limited to the role of the church. The Armenian church in the life of Georgian Armenians, as well as role of the Armenian Catholic Church in Armenian identity is very crucial.”
Stepan Danielyan opines that the two church should sit at the negotiating table to reach agreements on some harsh issues, and the offer to commence such negotiations should be voice by us. “Why? The reason is simple. We bear a responsibility for the Armenians living there, who accepting Orthodoxy, change also their nationality in the first generation. This is a crucial matter, and in my opinion, a few churches against which Georgian have claims should be exchanged by the Armenian churches in Georgia. I repeat, the stones, specifically to me, are of much less importance than the Armenians living in Georgia, moreover, when these churches have actually belonged to Mtskheta, despite the fact that they were built by Armenian Chalcedonians. I think this would help to improve the relations between the churches. On the other hand, if we have churches in Georgia, why there should be no Georgian churches in Armenia, this would bring the interactions into a balance. Also, the Georgian Armenians will deserve a positive attitude, and this tension will be mitigated. Why should only Armenian tourists visit Georgia? Let the Georgians also visit Armenia to get acquainted with these churches.”
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