Holy Etchmiadzin Will Not Send Delegation to Aghtamar
An invitation to participate in the opening ceremonies of the Church of the Holy Cross on the island of Aghtamar (Lake Van), scheduled for March 29, from Governor of Van Mehmet Niyazi Tanilir addressed to His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, was received in the Mother See via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin will not participate in the ceremonies after having considered that the Holy Cross Armenian Church, recently renovated by the Turkish authorities, will not operate as a church under the spiritual authority of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and instead will be designated as a museum; and that the opening ceremonies will be conducted solely with a secular program and not in accord with the canonical rites of the Holy Apostolic Armenian Church.
In this new century, when there is a universal desire for mutual understanding and collaboration between peoples, as well as in the context of dialogue between religions and cultures, this action of the Turkish authorities against the pious Christian beliefs and emotions of the Armenian people cannot be perceived as a positive step on the path of bringing the two nations closer.
