Statement from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on Recent Incident in the Georgian Diocese
July 2014
On July 19, according to a statement by the Armenian Church Diocese of Georgia, over 50 people, expressing disrespectful and blasphemous remarks, attacked the Holy Etchmiadzin Armenian Church of the Havlabar district in Tbilisi, Georgia. As a result of the attack, the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Manuk Zeynalyan; representatives of the Armenian Diocese of Georgia, as well Armenian faithful who were attending church, received numerous physical injuries.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin expresses its deep concern over the incident and condemns this action which instigates ethnic and religious hatred. This provocative incursion is an unfortunate consequence of the anti-Armenian sentiments which has been disseminated by various Georgian organizations and individuals, including some priests of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Such extreme cases are incompatible with the spirit of fraternal relations between the Armenian and Georgian people, which is one of the valuable historical achievements of our common past.
