Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Religion & Law Blogs -> Religion Clause

Religion & Law

: Religion Clause

Former Armenian Churches In Georgia are Focus of Contention

By Howard M. Friedman

An a href="http://www.reporter.am/go.cfm?path=/go/article/2008-12-20-georgian-church-lays-claims-to-armenian-monuments-in-tbilisi-and-beyondamp;pg=1"article/a in the Armenian Reporter and an a href="http://www.reporter.am/go.cfm?path=/go/article/2008-12-20-the-georgian-government-must-return-armenian-churchesamp;pg=1"interview/a with Armenian Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanian focus on six church buildings in the nation of Georgia-- five of them in the capital of Tiblisi-- which are claimed by the Armenian Orthodox Church. The disputed churches were taken from the Georgian-Armenian Diocese during the Soviet era and the buildings were put to nonreligious uses. In a recent visit to Tiblisi by the prime minister of Armenia, one of the churches (Holy Norashen) was briefly opened for prayers and lighting of candles at a ceremony attended by the prime minister. Meanwhile, pending resolution of ownership, the former church buildings are not being cared for by the Georgian government and are falling into disrepair. The issue of the churches is now being discussed by political leaders of both Georgia and Armenia.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on December 22, 2008 (boomark / email).