A MESSAGE FROM THE "ANCIENT" BISHOP

The "ancient and long-suffering" [Armenians] have once again lived up to their reputation as people greedy for someone else's wealth and cultural heritage. This time, the claims of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) on Georgian churches have been officially confirmed.

Georgian media have revealed details of a confidential letter, dated 10 December 2014, by the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, addressed to Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili. The document openly raises the question of the need to transfer hundreds of Christian churches in Georgia under the control of the Armenian Church. In his letter, Bishop Mirzakhanyan justifies the AAC's official claims on Georgian churches by purporting that "during the Soviet totalitarian regime, the Armenian Apostolic Church was deprived of the property it owned". That is why he requests that "repossessed churches and monasteries (functional and non-functional), their ruins, as well as the land on which they are or were situated be returned into the ownership of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Holy Church".

However, Mirzakhanyan has not cited a single concrete historical fact of placing Armenian churches under the control of the Georgians, which is not surprising after all, since the Armenians are used to advance unsubstantiated claims on everything that does not belong to them or resort to outright fraud in order to justify their lies. Nevertheless, the aforementioned bishop managed to supplement his letter with a list containing 442 churches and monasteries which, according to the Armenian clergy, should be transferred under their authority. Proceeding from the contents of this list, the number of Georgian churches officially claimed by the AAC has increased by a factor of 88(!). Until now, Echmiadzin laid claims on five churches operating in Georgia, which repeatedly were objects of interdenominational dispute between Georgians and Armenians in recent years. One of them is Norashen Church located in Tbilisi, which was the cause of outright fights and confrontations.

Despite the acuteness of interdenominational conflicts and associated scandals, the Georgian authorities managed to cool passions. But apparently, the appetites of the Armenians are not to be appeased, at least in a peaceful way, and therefore they have a tendency to continuous growth. This is the case with the Armenian claims on Georgian churches.

It is believed that a complete list of claims of Armenian clerics on Georgian churches was presented in a handbook published by Armenian writer Samvel Karapetyan as early as 1995, in which it was alleged that there were 653 Armenian churches in Georgia. While officially Armenian claims against Georgia have not yet reached the number 653, there is no doubt that such a goal is actually being pursued. Anyway, it is much easier to get from the number 442 to 653 than from 5 to 442. Therefore, there is a risk that Georgia has yet to drink the cup of trial to the dregs because of Armenian encroachments on its cultural heritage.

Generally speaking, by laying claims on Georgian churches, the Armenians not only impinge on religious and historical monuments of the neighbouring Christian people, but also openly declare non-recognition of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia. The Georgian newspaper "Georgia & World" has come to this valid conclusion too. It also answers the question of why Mirzakhanyan's list of claims mentions 442 rather than 653 churches, as was stated in the Armenian publication authored by Karapetyan. "So why Armenians claim only 442 churches and leave the remaining 211 churches to Georgians?" the newspaper asks. And then it gives the answer: "As it turned out, these churches are situated on the territory of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region, and by writing such a letter, the AAC (or more precisely, the "Armenian state") does not consider Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region the territory of Georgia!"

Other Georgian publications carried similar articles. "Our neighbours cannot change their nature and character. Along with an ostensibly innocent demand-request for the cultural monuments to be handed over to them, they deliberately and systematically make every effort to annex our territories. Imagine the above churches, their vicinities, cemeteries, and the Samtskhe-Javakheti region where the Armenian language is demanded to be adopted as the administrative language," the Saerto Gazeti newspaper wrote. The Akhali Taoba newspaper noted that "there is almost no region or area left in Georgia which is not subject to the claims of the Armenian side. Particular emphasis is laid on Tbilisi, of course. Until now, it was known that Armenians demand the transfer of only five churches. Indeed, Echmiadzin requires the transfer of five churches but the appetite of the Armenian Diocese proved to be much higher".

Undoubtedly, the letter of the Primate of the AAC Diocese in Georgia is only the first step towards the unfolding of an open interstate dispute about the ownership of churches on the territory of Georgia. An integral part of this ostentatious process is the raising of the church issue by the Armenians to the level of international concern. Moreover, realizing the futility of discussing this issue with international church authorities in a purely legal and political way, the Armenian side plans to channel it into a discussion of "cultural heritage". In this context, as reported by media, the "ancient and long-suffering" have sent a message to UNESCO stating the essence of their claims on Georgian churches. It is assumed that the appeal to UNESCO will become the first step in "fixing" the problem at the international level. Next, there may follow the filing of lawsuits with international courts and appeals to the Council of Europe and various specialized structures.

Meanwhile, the activity of the Armenian Apostolic Church directly relates to the separatist aspirations in the Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti inhabited by ethnic Armenians who call it "Javakhk". In fact, "the struggle of Javakhk for secession from Georgia", which has been waged for years by various separatist groups enjoying Yerevan's direct and indirect support, is taking an increasingly clear shape. Thus, the activity of the Support to Javakhk fund set up at the end of 2013 "for the implementation of numerous economic, cultural, educational and youth programmes aimed at improving the lives of the Javakhk Armenians in the regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Tsalka" has become more prominent. The founders of the fund include Gurgen Dalibaltayan, the chief advisor to the Minister of Defence of Armenia, Seyran Vantsyan, the president of the Ayk Avia air company, Ashot Melkonyan, the director of the Institute of History at the Armenian Academy of Sciences, and Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, the Primate of the AAC Diocese in Georgia.

The fact that the founders plan not only to register Support to Javakhk in Georgia but also to open its branches in different countries, in particular, the US, France, Russia, Argentina, Lebanon, and Iran tells a lot about far-reaching ambitions of the fund. The fund carries out a number of projects, the largest of which is aimed at stimulating the growth in the number of the Armenian population of Javakheti (families having three or more children are given material assistance).

Speaking at one of the fund's meetings in Yerevan, Bishop Mirzakhanyan noted the need to "solve problems in a timely manner, otherwise we leave them until matters reach an extreme point, and then try to find a solution". Apparently, Mirzakhanyan reckons the transfer of hundreds of Georgian churches to the AAC among the kind of problems requiring "timely resolution". This is another step of the Armenians along the path leading to aggression against the neighbouring peoples with the purpose of appropriating their land and cultural monuments.

The Georgian leadership, in turn, is taking measures to prevent the spread of the threat of Armenian separatism. Thus, Chairman of the State Agency for Religious Affairs of Georgia Zaza Vashakmadze visited Yerevan to clarify the "church" dispute. On returning to Tbilisi, he voiced a phrase that clearly was not to the liking of the Armenian side: "There are Georgian churches and monasteries in Armenia, and we demand their transfer to the bosom of the Georgian Orthodox Church".

However, both politicians and experts in Georgia emphasize that in general, it is not yet clear what specific political steps will be taken by official Tbilisi in order to, firstly, prevent the implementation of the Armenian "church" claims and the growing threat of separatism in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, and secondly, avoid the deterioration of relations with Armenia, to which the Georgian leadership sometimes attaches an importance clearly beyond Armenia's real weight  in the regional policy and economy.

"Our neighbours (Armenians - R+) cannot change their nature and morale. Along with an ostensibly innocent demand-request for the cultural monuments to be handed over to them, they deliberately and systematically make every effort to annex our territories. Imagine the above churches, their vicinities, cemeteries, and the Samtskhe-Javakheti region where the Armenian language is demanded to be adopted as the administrative language."

"The Armenian Church demand that the Georgian gorvernment hand 394 'Armenian' churches over to them," Saerto gazeti newspaper

"There is almost no region or area left in Georgia which is not subject to the claims of the Armenian side. Particular emphasis is laid on Tbilisi, of course. Until now, it was known that Armenians demand the transfer of only five churches. Indeed, Echmiadzin requires the transfer of five churches but the appetite of the Armenian Eparchy proved to be much higher".

Does Echmiadzin make no claim on Georgian churches? - Akhali Taoba newspaper