Father Asoghik says Holy Geghard safe and intact

PanARMENIAN.Net - Following a six-hour interrogation at the Investigative Committee, Asoghik Father Karapetyan, director of the museums and archives of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, told reporters that the Holy Geghard is “intact, undamaged, secure, and safely kept” at the Holy Etchmiadzin.

“Everything being said is false, slanderous, and I don’t know why it is being circulated,” he stated, as reported by Sputnik Armenia.

Responding to a question about whether any part of the Geghard was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, Father Asoghik emphasized that Christian churches have shared relics with one another for centuries.

“This is solely the Church’s prerogative. No one else has a say. The Church decides, the Church donates, and it does so knowingly, preserving the integrity of the sacred object, which has been safeguarded in Armenia since the first century. The entire Christian world knows that the Holy Geghard of the Virgin Mary is in Armenia, intact and always kept at Etchmiadzin. It has never been removed,” he said.

He recalled that similar false reports had circulated in 2018, alleging the Geghard had been gifted to the Russian Church.

“We only donated a model of the Geghard, the kind you can find in any souvenir shop within the Church grounds,” he clarified.

Addressing claims that a splinter had been removed from the Geghard’s shaft, Father Asoghik explained that it was taken from the model, not the actual relic. “Removing a fragment from the shaft doesn’t mean mutilating the Geghard. It was not cut or disassembled,” he said.

The model containing the splinter was presented to Patriarch Alexy II of the Russian Orthodox Church on his 75th birthday and is currently housed at the Saints Constantine and Helen Monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church.

“This sacred item is part of the Christian heritage. Through God’s grace and mercy, it is preserved in the Armenian Church but does not exclusively belong to it,” he added.

He further noted that the Armenian Apostolic Church has historically donated relics to other Christian leaders, for instance, in the 18th century, a piece of Noah’s Ark was gifted to the Russian Empress, and Catholicos Vazgen I presented a relic of Saint Thaddeus to the Ethiopian Emperor.

“Catholicos Karekin I donated a relic of Saint Andrew to Patriarch Alexy. Likewise, Catholicos Karekin II, within his full authority, can donate any Church relic to anyone, whether lay or clergy. This is the exclusive right of the Church leader, and no one else has the authority to object,” Father Asoghik concluded.

In 2004, to mark Patriarch Alexy II’s 75th birthday, Catholicos Karekin II presented a small shaving from the shaft of the Holy Geghard. It was delivered by the Governor of Saint Petersburg, Georgy Poltavchenko.