ROC doesn't meddle with Karabakh conflict

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia stands for a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict but does not find it expedient to speak of Karabakh status, said monk Philip (Ryabykh), deputy chairman of the external relations of The Moscow Patriarchate.



"The final resolution of the conflict is within competence of political leaders who are responsible for peaceful life of Caucasian nations. The ROC never interfered in this political conflict, which damaged the lives of ordinary people - Armenians and Azerbaijanis," he said.



He also informed that the congregation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Nagorno Karabakh counts 600 people. "A ROC parish was registered in Stepanakert with the assistance of the Armenian Apostolic Church," Monk Philip said, Interfax-Religion reported.



The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) or The Moscow Patriarchate  is a body of Christians who constitute an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow, in communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches.



The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world and second only to the Roman Catholic Church among Christian churches, numbering over 135 million members world wide and growing numerically since late 1980s. Up to 65% of ethnic Russians and a significant number of Belarusians and Ukrainians identify themselves as "Orthodox". According to the data made public December 12, 2008, the Church had 157 dioceses including 29,263 parishes served by 203 bishops (another 14 are on retirement), 27,216 priests and 3,454 deacons; there were 804 monasteries, including 478 in the Russian Federation (another 25 are within the ROCOR jurisdiction), 87 theological schools, including 5 theological academies and 38 seminaries.



The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church. The Armenian Apostolic Church traces its origins to the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century.



The official name of the Church is the One Holy Universal Apostolic Orthodox Armenian Church. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the central religious authority for the Armenian Orthodox population in the Republic of Armenia as well as for Armenian Orthodox communities worldwide. It is headed by a Catholicos. Although it is traditional in Eastern churches for the supreme head of the church to be named Patriarch, in the Armenian Apostolic Church hierarchy, the position of the Catholicos is higher than that of the Patriarch. The Armenian Apostolic Church presently has two catholicoi (His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; and Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia), and two patriarchs, plus Primates, Archbishops and Bishops, lower clergy and laity serving the church. The Catholicos of All Armenians represents the centralized authority of the Armenian Church. He is the supreme judge and the head of the legislative body. He is President of the Supreme Spiritual Council as well as the College of Bishops. Ordination of bishops, blessing of Holy Chrism, proclamation of Feasts, invitation and dismissal of National-Ecclesiastical Assemblies, issuing decrees concerning the administration of the Armenian Church and establishing dioceses are part of his responsibilities. Both clergy and lay are involved in the administrative structure of the Church.



Led by His Holiness Karekin II, the spiritual and administrative work of the Armenian Church is carried out in the Republic of Armenia in the areas of Religion, Preparation of Clergy, Christian Education, Construction of new Churches, Social Services, and Ecumenical activities. Underneath this administrative structure are the hierarchal Sees: The Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia located in Antelias, Lebanon, is a regional See with current jurisdiction of the Dioceses of Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus as temporarily granted to her by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in 1929, is led by Catholicos Aram I.



The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem which has jurisdiction over all of the Holy Lands and the Diocese of Jordan, is led by Patriarch Archbishop Torgom Manoogian.



The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and All of Turkey, which has jurisdiction in the modern day Republic of Turkey, is led by Patriarch Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan.



The three historic aforementioned hierarchal sees administer to the Dioceses under their jurisdiction as they see fit, however, the supremacy of the Catholicosate of All Armenians in all spiritual matters remains pre-eminent.



In addition to the responsibilities of overseeing their respective Dioceses, each hierarchical See, and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, has a Monastic Brotherhood.



The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west.



After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923 it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that was fought from 1991 to 1994.



Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.



Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.