Holy Echmiadzin to take action over anti-Armenian event in Vatican

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Inter-Church Relations Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has expressed deep concern regarding an event held in Rome by Azerbaijani entities, which it says carried a clear anti-Armenian agenda.

According to the statement, Holy Etchmiadzin will take appropriate steps through interchurch channels in response to this incident.

The event, titled “Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modern Times,” took place on April 10 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Vatican City. It was organized by the Azerbaijani Embassy in collaboration with Azerbaijani organizations and attended by representatives from various countries.

During the event, Azerbaijani propaganda again attempted to deny the Armenian origins of the historical and cultural heritage of Armenia and Artsakh, distorting historical facts with the aim of eventual appropriation.

The Armenian church noted that this event occurred at a time when the international community has yet to properly address Azerbaijan’s acts of genocide, the violation of the fundamental rights of forcibly displaced Armenians from Artsakh, the illegal detention and mistreatment of Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijani prisons, and the ongoing erasure of Armenian religious and cultural heritage in Artsakh.

“It is regrettable that such an unscientific and politically motivated event was allowed to take place within a prominent Catholic educational institution,” the statement read.

No Armenian scholarly institutions had been informed of the event, and though dozens of experts from various countries participated, no Armenian representatives were present.