Republican Party of Armenia will attend the liturgy in Surb Khach Church on September 19, the MP from RPA Hovhannes Sahakyan told the reporters on Tuesday.

The parliamentarian urged the other political forces not to participate in the opening ceremony either. According to him, the liturgy in Surb Khach is another Turkish show, aimed to prove the world community Turkey is a democratic state.

“Under our ecclesiastical laws, a religious service is unacceptable without a cross on the dome of a church. It testifies to the fact this is another show by the Turkish authorities,” he emphasized.

As to the silence of the Armenian political forces on putting off the installation of a cross on Surb Khach, Sahakyan said: “If we politicized the issue, Turkey would have achieved its goals. We are well aware Turkey made a show of the opening of Surb Khach, aimed at proving it is a progressive move, despite the Armenian side’s statement on religious intolerance in Turkey."