Epress.am News from Armenia
The matter of the cross not being placed atop Aghtamar’s Holy Cross Armenian Church has become a fervent topic of discussions, said Turkologist Artak Shakaryan while speaking to journalists today.
He noted that Istanbul Armenians were mainly in favor of this scenario, and the outcry from Armenians from Armenia regarding the cross’ absence is incomprehensible for them. According to the Turkologist, Armenians in Armenia have to understand Turkish-Armenians because if they begin to protest, Armenian schools and churches will be shut down and other issues will arise.
On the matter of Armenia’s participation in the Divine Liturgy, Shakaryan said:
“To participate or not to participate, they carried out their scenario. Turkey, who created the scenario, won, received the results. We simply didn’t assist them,” said Shakaryan.
According to him, the cross probably will be placed on the church before April 24.
“If they placed it on Sept. 19 [the day of the Divine Liturgy], they wouldn’t have anything to do now,” he said.
Shakaryan also stated that preparations to open Diyarbakir’s St. Kirakos church are underway and it’ll be open within a year.
According to Shakaryan, Turkey is opening Armenian churches not for liturgies, but to hold cultural events.