Armenian Church has no status in Georgia

(PanARMENIAN) - Armenian Church doesn’t have any status in Georgia. The other religious minorities experience the same problem, the head of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church said.

“We were offered a status of a non-governmental organization but we rejected. We urge the Georgian authorities either to pass a law on religion or conclude an agreement with the religious minorities, recognizing them as artificial persons,” bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan said. I don't think they meant "artificial."

At the same time, he remarked that the intelligentsia and clergy should not involve the flock in the problem of return of churches. “This problem should be resolved at the highest level and religious fanatics should not instigate national hostility. Georgians should understand that Armenians are not crazy to lay claims to a Georgian Church in Tbilisi,” he said.

The Georgian Patriarchate doesn’t comment on the issue. “It’s well known that Georgian and Armenian churches differ on belonging of the historical religious monument, what Armenians call Norashen (pictured above right). A commission consisting of professional experts will be formed to deal with the issue,” says the statement published by the Patriarchate on December 8.