Tbilisi still tries to represent St. Norashen as Georgian Church

PanARMENIAN.Net - Working groups consisting of Armenian and Georgian historians and architects which are studying the issue of Armenian St. Norashen Church in Tbilisi, Georgian Culture Ministry official said.



"After thorough examination, the commission will arrive at a conclusion," Mikhail Zhuravlev, senior specialist of international affairs division at the Georgian Ministry of Culture told PanARMENAIN.Net.



Encroachments on St. Norashen Armenian Church date back to 1994.



On November 16, 2008 Georgian monk Tariel Sikinchelashvili instructed workers to raze to the ground the graves of Mikhail and Lidia Tamamshev.



This barbarian act outraged Armenians, who demanded to let the graves in their place. However, Father Tariel responded that "Armenians have a habit of taking what doesn't belong to them."



Upon arrival of representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church and parliament member Van Bayburt, the Georgian monk said he just wanted to replace the gravestones to "clean under them."