Civilnet
The Georgian Orthodox Church and the Georgian-Armenian Diocese condemn the July 19 incident at the Armenian Church of St. Etchmiadzin in Tbilisi.
A meeting took place on July 22 at the Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarchate between the head of the Inter-Church Relations Department of the Patriarchate, Metropolitan Gerasime (Sharashenidze) of Zugdidi and Tsaishi Diocese, and the Primate of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, according to a statement from the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia. Patriarchate spokesperson Michael Botkoveli and the head of social services for the Georgian-Armenian Diocese, Michael Avagyan, were also present.
They discussed the incident that took place on July 19 near St. Etchmiadzin in Tbilisi, describing ethnic and religious discrimination in Georgia as unacceptable and emphasizing the multiethnic and religiously diverse history of Georgia, where different peoples have lived and worked together for centuries. The attendees stressed the importance of Armenian-Georgian inter-church relations and the centuries-old friendship between the two nations.
With regard to the incident, the Primate of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church stressed that while it was primarily hooliganism, there were undertones of national intolerance, which is unacceptable.
The leader of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese asked Metropolitan Gerasime to allocate more room for campaigns about tolerance and Christian love in the Georgian church communities, with the blessing of Catholicos Patriarch of all Georgia Ilia II.
In light of the century-old history of living side-by-side, there is hope that the police will find the organizers and perpetrators with the purpose of preventing any enmity between the people of Georgia.
According to the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, a planned attack on clerics, Diocesan officials and members of the congregation took place in the yard of Tbilisi’s St. Etchmiadzin Church at 5:00 p.m. on July 19. “Witnesses report the ethnic hatred of the mob towards Armenians. Some of them were under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Witnesses testify that the mob of 50 people was headed by persons who were expensively dressed and drove expensive cars. All of this was the result of hatred fomented in Georgian churches and even the media and directed towards the Armenian church and the Armenian people on a domestic level,” according to a Diocesan announcement.
The Holy See of Etchmiadzin also released a statement condemning the attack, while the Georgian Interior Ministry claims the incident was not ethnically motivated.
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