There are warnings in the press about the movement and service of the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Dadivank of Artsakh, which is under the control of Azerbaijan, about how Azerbaijan is obstructing Armenian priests from entering the monastery complex, as well as visits from the faithful despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers. Aravot Daily spoke to Father Atanas Sargsyan, who serves at Dadivank.
- Father Atanas, please inform us if the aforementioned is true. How long has the entrance of Armenian priests and citizens to Dadivank been prevented, and why?
The last time Armenian faithful have visited Dadivank was May 2nd. After that, the Azerbaijani side did not provide any opportunity for the faithful to visit the monastery complex and participate in mass. The faithful only spend a few hours at Dadivank. They participate in the Holy Mass, report, and return. In other words, the presence of the faithful at the monastery only lasts around 3-4 hours every week. As usual, the Russian peacekeepers are given a list of the visitors’ data for Sunday at the beginning of the week, but at the end of the week, sometimes on Sunday mornings, we find out that the Azerbaijani side is not allowing them to visit the church. The Russian side is working every day to ensure that visiting the church becomes a possibility.
- Do they allow priests to come to Dadivank for shift changes?
Until May 2nd, priests would come to the church on Sundays with the worshippers. At the moment, even changing shifts has become difficult, sometimes impossible. Over the past few months, due to the efforts of the Russian side, it has become possible to organize shift changes once or twice. At the moment, the Russian side is negotiating so that priests can change shifts. Azerbaijan closed the entrance to Dadivank 2 months ago and strictly limited shift changes for the clergy. The Russian side has been intensive negotiations with the Azerbaijani side over the past few months so that they will allow worshippers and clergy to visit, but the Azerbaijani side announced in the beginning that they are prohibiting people from coming due to the pandemic. Then, they announced that the river overflowed, so the road is not passable. Recently, however, they have not given any reason. Although there was unimpeded movement by them both during the pandemic and when the road was destroyed, dozens of people visited Dadivank. There is no argument or justification from the Azerbaijani side regarding the ban on entering the monastery.
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