Kievers Are Not Against Armenian Church

PanARMENIAN.Net - In 1992 Kiev municipality gave a land of about 1000 square meters for the construction of an Armenian church in front of "Jovten" cinema. The territory is meant for the construction of a church and the residence of the head of Armenian eparchy which will be moved here from Lvov. It is also planned to construct a cultural center and an Armenian Sunday school. The whole mess is caused by the fact that the church is built on a territory where there was a park. Local "activists" say they will have no place to stroll. "We need a park here and not a church with hundreds of parishioners and tolling of bells", says Aleksey Burmak - the leader of construction opponents. Burmak also notes that their demand should not be viewed as an expression of xenophobia, since he does not have anything against Armenians. "We also would not allow Ukrainian or Islamic priesthood to take away our territory", Burmak says.

Now, let us try to understand what exactly is meant under that territory. Here is what a local paper writes about the real condition of the site which was once called park and which is now allotted for the construction of an Armenian church: "…tiles covering the ground have drifted apart and gone down into ground, creating puddles, the fountain heaped up with soil has become a habitation for the homeless…" The paper which tried to treat the demand of opponents with understanding, could not find anything convincing in their arguments. The author of the article considers it senseless to speculate about 5 or 6 cut down trees since it is planned to plant new trees against those cut down. As for the absence of other recreational places in the area where people can breathe fresh air, the paper reminds of another park, located in 100 meters from the cinema. "Authorities can create a strolling area, renovating the second ground next to the cinema", says the journalist, underlining that construction of the church is fully legal - the land is allotted and the project is approved. In the same newspaper it is also said that "the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev patriarchy supports the initiative of Armenians".

So what is all the mess about? What is the reason of the whole fuss, which can have a negative impact on Armenian-Ukrainian relations? Not even realizing that, initiators of the protest action can become a toy in the hands of local Nazi who are seeking for an occasion to provoke international conflict. By the way, Armenian churches are right in the center of their attention. Last year, on the night of April 23, on the eve of the day when Armenians were commemorating the 90th anniversary of Armenian genocide, unknown people painted on a 14th century Armenian church: "Armenians - second Jews. Go away from Ukraine". The Armenian church of Lvov was profaned by the Nazi in September 2004. After both of the incidents, the responsibility for the dirty tricks was taken by the radical group, led by Stepan Bandera and in both cases the police did not arrest anyone.
Today, over half a million of Armenians live in Ukraine. The history of Armenian community of Ukraine counts more than a thousand years. It is common to consider that first Armenians appeared in Kiev Rus after the marriage of the great prince Vladimir with Ann - sister of Byzantine king Vasily. As it is known, Ann and Vasily descended from an Armenian dynasty and always surrounded themselves with compatriots. Together with Ann, a large retinue of Armenians arrived in Kiev. They were given special churches for organizing religious rites. It is known that in the beginning of the 11th century Kiev already had a religious Armenian community. In the 19th century there were already several Armenian churches in Kiev. After the establishment of Soviet power all of them were closed or destroyed. The foundation of one of those churches on Pokrovska Street later served as a foundation for a Ukrainian orthodox church. Today, in Kiev, which is populated by more than 50 thousand Armenians, there is actually no Armenian church. (Not counting the tiny church with a territory of 4 square meters). Can this be considered normal? There are Armenian churches in Lvov, Kharkov, Odessa, Belgorod-Dnestrovsk, Feodosia, Yalta, Yevpatoria, Simferopol, Dnepropetrovsk, Nikolayev, Ismail, Makeevka and other Ukrainian cities, where as in the capital, Armenians do not have a place to light a candle...

Hopefully, Ukrainian authorities will find a solution of this problem, which actually does not have any grounds. During the meeting with the head of Armenian eparchy Archbishop Grigoris Buniatyan, the ambassador of Ukraine in Armenia Alexander Bojko expressed hope that the problem would be solved. The secretary for humanitarian issues of the Ukrainian embassy in Armenia Oksana Vovk assured the reporter of "Regnum" information agency that the "temporary difficulties occurring in Podol will soon be overcome". So, let us wait and hope...