Major section of 14th century Armenian church in Tbilisi collapsed Wednesday eveningNovember 20, 2009 - 12:05 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A major section of a 14th century Armenian church in Tbilisi collapsed Wednesday evening, after years of neglect by the authorities to repair the historic structure, reported the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church on Thursday.The St. Gevorg of Mughni Church, built in 1356, had been entirely rebuilt in 1756. It is made of brick and its architectural typology is that of a cross within a rectangular perimeter, with four free-standing supports. The church had been closed for years, owing to the structures deteriorating condition. Locals say the recent rains further exacerbated the damage to the church. 450px-Saint_Gevorg_of_Mughni_Church,_TbilisiThe medieval church had been operating as a museum of folk art until the mid-1980s. By 1990 it was no longer a museum and its interior lay in ruin. The vestibule attached to the western facade of the church was destroyed in May, 1991. "The Georgian Ministry of Culture, Monuments Protection and Sports should bear the responsibility," the Diocese said in a statement Thursday. "All this creates an impression that by failing to solve the issue of returning the churches to the Armenian Diocese, the Georgian Patriarchate and authorities do not pay proper attention to the preservation of Armenian churches, and intentionally destroy important monuments of Armenian culture." Georgian authorities had pointed to large cracks in the church's walls as an excuse to demolish the church instead of repair it. The district governor in Tbilisi Thursday promised to allocate funds for reconstruction of the church. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |