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ANKARA: Turkey's Armenians Suprised By Etchmiadzin Akdamar No-Show

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  • ANKARA: Turkey's Armenians Suprised By Etchmiadzin Akdamar No-Show

    TURKEY'S ARMENIANS SUPRISED BY ETCHMIADZIN AKDAMAR NO-SHOW

    Hurriyet Daily News
    Sept 6 2010
    Turkey

    The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul is surprised that the spiritual
    center of the Armenian Apostolic Church has rejected an invitation
    to attend a historic service on Van's Akdamar Island on Sept. 19,
    Istanbul's deputy patriarch said Monday.

    The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the headquarters of the Armenian
    Apostolic Church, changed its decision after learning that no cross
    had been affixed to the top of the Surp Hac (Holy Cross) Church in
    the eastern province ahead of the service.

    "I still believe that they will participate," said Istanbul Deputy
    Patriarch and Archbishop Aram AteÅ~_yan, adding that he had not yet
    received any official information from Etchmiadzin.

    "But if they retreat [from their earlier decision to attend], there
    is nothing I can do but respect their decision. In this service I
    would like to mark our church's unity," he said.

    "We had decided to send two spiritual leaders to the service because
    we were told that the cross would be put over the top of the church's
    dome for the ceremony. But Turkey did not honor its word and we learned
    that the cross would not be placed," Bishop Sebouh Chouldjian, primate
    of the Church's Diocese of Gougark, told the Hurriyet Daily News &
    Economic Review on Monday.

    "It is claimed that the cross will not be placed on the dome. However,
    a promise has been made to the Patriarchate. If it does not happen for
    the service, it would absolutely be placed just after it," AteÅ~_yan
    said, criticizing debates in Armenia and the diaspora over the lack
    of a cross.

    Turkish Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay told the Daily News last
    Sunday that despite the possibility of delays due to work on the
    country's constitutional referendum on Sept. 12, the cross would be
    placed on the dome.

    Journalist Levon Barseghyan, the head of the Journalist Club Asbarez
    in Gyumri, Armenia, criticized the decision of the Etchmiadzin,
    saying he found the move extremely political.

    "Unfortunately the Etchmiadzin deals more with political matters than
    fulfilling its spiritual duty. Etchmiadzin has long been a place for
    politics rather than being a religious center," he said.

    People have not given credit to calls in Armenia to boycott the
    service, said Barseghyan. "If I weren't in another country for work,
    I would attend the service, no doubt."

    Political scientist and author Manvel Sargsyan also criticized
    Etchmiadzin for dealing with politics, criticizing the calls for
    people to avoid the service.

    "They should leave people to their own will. Etchmiadzin should take
    care of its own business and remain away from politics," he said.

    The Surp Hac Church in the eastern province of Van has been a subject
    of debate in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora because it was opened
    as a museum and no cross was placed on its dome. Turkish and Armenian
    experts restored the church in 2007 at the initiative of Atilla Koc,
    the culture minister at that time. The church then opened as a museum.




    From: A. Papazian
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