Georgian Church Prepares Grounds For Territorial Claims To Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - It is not the first time that Georgian Orthodox Church asserts unconcealed claims to the property of Armenian Apostolic Church. It is noteworthy that this time Georgians lay claim to churches, located in the Republic of Armenia - regions of Tavoush and Lori. What is especially delicate in this issue is the fact that those churches are located on territories, which were included in the map of united Georgian Republic by Georgian Mensheviks back in 1918. It was the control over Tavoush and Lori regions that caused conflicts between Armenia and Georgia. Fortunately the rulers of the first Georgian Republic found enough wisdom and common sense to acknowledge the sovereignty of Yerevan over those territories. Since then no one has publicly cast doubt on the fact that those territories belong to Armenia. This is why the decision of orthodox hierarchs promoting reanimation of the closed and completely senseless discussion looks even more unexpected.

The establishment of the "special commission" was preceded by another demarche, which was no less provocative. Early in March, the supreme synod of Georgian Orthodox Church made a decision on the establishment of eparchy of Georgian Orthodox Church in Armenia. Making the decision Georgians did not even inform Armenian Apostolic Church or the political leadership of Armenia. "To restore historical existence of the eparchy of Agarak-Tashir and subordinate it to the bishop of Dmanisi with a title bishop of Dmanisi and Agarak - Tashir, Dmanisi chair". This is what the synod's decision says. Taking into account the fact that there is not a single pious Georgian in those territories, it is not clear for whom they are creating the new eparchy. Meanwhile, Georgians living in Yerevan have the opportunity of holding liturgies according to the Orthodox rite. As a gesture of good will the Armenian Apostolic Church has given them a church, creating all the necessary conditions. It is quite strange that the gesture was not appreciated...

There is no doubt that the synod of Georgian church made the decision on the establishment of eparchy and creation of the special committee, basing on the claims to Armenian churches and the approval of Georgian political leadership. But why did the official Tbilisi need that? Usually Georgian political scientists accuse Russian special services in the rise of tension between Armenia and Georgia. But this time it is quite obvious who is standing behind the attempt to involve the two neighbor nations in a quarrel. It is especially strange that those things happened immediately after the successful visit of the newly appointed Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gela Bejuashvili who gave special attention to the problem of relations between Armenian and Georgian churches.

Nevertheless, it is not hard to find an answer to the question "Why now?". The problem of defining the status of traditional faiths has been discussed in Tbilisi for a long time. Though in the multi-national Republic of Georgia the church is detached of state, authorities refuse to create legal base for the activities of other faiths. Especially morbid is the attitude of Georgians to the issue of defining the rights of the local eparchy of Armenian Apostolic Church. The issue of the status of the eparchy presupposes determination of ownership rights on the six Armenian churches, which ceased functioning after the establishment of Soviet power. Orthodox hierarchs call those churches Georgian. There is no doubt that latest demarches of the Georgian Orthodox Church are an answer to the demands of Georgian Armenians. It looks like the claims of Georgians to the six Armenian churches are not accidental too. They are probably guided by the principles "eye for eye" and "best the defense is attack"...

Under such circumstances it is getting harder and harder to believe in the purposefulness of the planned visit of Armenian Catholicos to Tbilisi. The issue of the visit of Garegin II to Tbilisi has been discussing for a long time. His visit to Georgia could become a break-through in the complicated relations between Armenian and Georgian churches. It is worth mentioning that the last Catholicos to visit Georgia was Khrimyan Hayrik who went to Georgia 110 years ago. Thus, the situation is not normal: the patriarchs of two sister nations communicate through mediators and see each other on the funerals of their predecessors. Wishing to put an end to this absurdity the Armenian Catholicos was ready to pay a visit to his Georgian brother. And this is how Tbilisi responded.