Aravot interviewed Vladimir Poghosyan, Advisor to the former Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan and Advisor to the Armenian President on Security during the First Artsakh War.
– How would you comment on the statement of Metropolitan Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, the head of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, that despite the signing of the peace agreement and the transfer of most of Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan, some of it is still temporarily ruled by Armenia?
– Metropolitan Hilarion is another tool used by Azerbaijan and Turkey to put pressure on Armenia. Today, the task is to implement a British project in Turkey, Russia, and Armenia through agents under their influence. That is why it is necessary to break the will of our people to resist. The shortest way to achieve this is to destroy our hope and spiritual values. That is why Hilarion says that the control of Armenia over Artsakh is temporary.
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He announced the program and sent a signal to his friends, owners, or curators by the order of the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. He spoke about the decision made in Moscow, at the same time signaling to the Armenian authorities that the time has come to implement it. At the moment, in the regions of Nagorno Karabakh that were handed over to Azerbaijan by the November 9 agreement, the religious composition of the population is changing.
– Archimandrite Alexei Nikonorov, Secretary of the Administration of the Baku Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, said that the oldest churches in the Caucasus are Albanian, noting that under various pressures, the Albanian Church chose the Armenian Church as a partner, which is why it has disappeared over the years. There was no response from the Armenian religious leadership to these statements either. What are the dangers of making such statements and leaving them unanswered?
– Archimandrite Alexei is a continuation of the Russian Orthodox Church’s plan to take over our clergy. Nothing new. Their mission is to convince the world that there are no Armenian churches and there is nothing to worry about because they were invented by Armenians. They want to break the faith of the people of Artsakh, destroy their spirit, and make them people who have false ideas about the deep historical, spiritual, religious and civilizational role of Artsakh and Armenians in general. The President of the Albanian-Udi Christian Community of Azerbaijan, Robert Bagratovich Mobili, is actively participating in the process of evicting the Armenians from the religious territory of Nagorno Karabakh, and according to their plan, is preparing the establishment of the Udi Albanian (Caucasian) Apostolic Autonomous Church. The actions of the Udi community have received support from the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is discussing the possible recognition of a new autonomous church.
– Archimandrite Alexei Nikonorov also stated that our neighbors live from sea to sea according to the myths of Armenia, and the countries living with myths are doomed to extinction. What is the context of his statement?
– Such steps show that the international policy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople is under the control of President Erdogan and follows Turkey’s political plans to expand its influence in the Caucasus. The patriarch also pursues his own goals, which is to make the Church of Constantinople the role of his supreme judge in universal and inter-Orthodox relations. Archimandrite Alexei is the one pushing this line in the territory of Azerbaijan. He not only violates the canonical boundaries of the local churches, but also ignores their historical traditions and spiritual ties. His support for the initiative of the Azerbaijani Udis puts him in a very risky game, as it is aimed at violating the interests of the Armenian Apostolic Church and hurts the interests of the multimillion-dollar Armenian Diaspora, which is very influential in the world. Does the Russian Orthodox Church take pleasure in seating Catholicos Garegin II at the same table as Sheikh Shukur Pashazade, the “Sheikh Al Islam” established by NSS General H. Aliyev in the late 1980s? Does the “Charter” of 1836 apply to him as well?
And special thanks to Metropolitan Hilarion for his candid and honest presentation of the position of “Moscow-Third Rome,” which is aimed at humiliating one of the four ancient churches and its flock. God sees everything…
Tatev Harutyunyan
