TBILISI. – Armenian president was briefed on the situation over Tandoyants St. Astvatsatsin church in Tbilisi, but the Armenian community of Georgia has to deal with the matter, head of Georgian diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, archbishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan told reporters.
The problems related to the Armenian heritage in Georgia has to be solved by the Armenian community.
“Our position is the following: we do not want the Holy See of St. Echmiadzin and the official Yerevan to deal with the problems connected with the preservation of the Armenian cultural heritage in Georgia. This situation can lead to inter-state and inter-church problems. Therefore, the issue should be dealt by the Armenian community of Georgia itself,” Mirzakhanyan said.
The bishop also said that unless the issue with the Tandoyants church is resolved before the end of this year, the Armenian community would sue the Georgian government and also use international agencies to solve the problem.
In July, the Georgian government handed over Tandoyants St. Astvatsatsin church to the Georgian Patriarchate.
Earlier the Institute for Tolerance and Diversity of Georgia published an article saying “the government had not studied the historical origin of the church and its cultural and religious features” before handing it over to the Georgian Orthodox Church.
