YEREVAN. - Issues related to the problems specified by We Demand Resignation of the Catholicos social initiative on the current state of the Church of Holy Astvatsatsin (Virgin) in Yerevan, have been honored with due attention and necessary actions have been taken even prior to the signal by any group, Holy Etchmiadzin Information System head Father Vahram Melikyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.
As for demands of resignation of the Catholicos Karekin II Father Vahram called it a noncense.
“We are not going to respond to nonsense. One cannot be that uneducated and illiterate. The language used by the members of this group is already an indication of who they are,” he said.
Earlier, Armenian News-NEWS.am reported that members of by We Demand Resignation of the Catholicos social initiative revealed an unbelievable scene at Yerevan’s St. Astvatsatsin church, located near Khachatur Abovyan House-Museum at Kanaker district.
The statement which the initiative has released in this connection reads as follows:
“As a result of inaction by the Armenian Apostolic Church, the St. Astvatsatsin church - which is one of the several medieval churches still preserved in Yerevan - has turned from an Armenian sanctuary into a gathering place for the Word of Life sect. According to the residents, they [sect members] loudly chant their prayers at the yard of the Armenian Apostolic church early in the morning and in the evening hours, and disturb the peace of the residents. On many occasions, the neighboring residents of the church have appealed to different state bodies, depicting the abandoned condition of the church and its unbelievable consequences.
In addition, the residents also maintain that the area around the abandoned church has become a spot for couples and their activities, as well as a fighting place for the neighborhood youth. The area of medieval tombstones, which surround the church, has turned into a garbage dump. Thanks to a local resident, the church has a door, albeit lacking art, and a lock, and the locals have brought inside the church religious icons from their homes; incidentally, Russian icons constitute a large number.
The person responsible for this situation is the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and the Araratian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. This condition is but one of hundreds of occurrences, and we believe that more telling reasons cannot be brought forth for those who demand the resignation of the Catholicos.
The initiating groups calls on the media and involved persons to be persistent and attain a just solution to the matter.”