Armenian Church condemns Turkey's Hagia Sophia decisionJuly 14, 2020 - 16:44 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Church has condemned Turkey's decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque as "a politically motivated move that will greatly damage the mutual understanding and dialogue between religions." In a statement published Tuesday, July 14, the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, called on Turkish authorities to reconsider the decision and return to the principle of "a peaceful prayerful coexistence of different religious communities" in the country. The Catholicos described Turkey's decision as "one-sided and deplorable" which he said violates the rights of national religious minorities in the country. According to the religious leader, the policy of the Turkish government evokes grave memories of the desecration and destruction of Armenian sanctuaries and those of other Christian nations by the Ottoman authorities. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 10 that he would turn the building back into a mosque, fulfilling a longtime promise of his. The famous landmark, built as a cathedral during the Byzantine Empire, stood as a place of worship for Greek Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and Muslims for centuries before to being turn into a secular museum in the 1930s. Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. U.S. believes peace is “possible” in South Caucasus The United States continues to believe that peace is possible in the South Caucasus, Vedant Patel said. |