Russian Orthodox Clergy Cast Doubts on the Armenian Origin of Ghazanchetsots

After visiting the Ghazanchetsots Church, Father Konstantin Pomynov, head of the public relations department of the Baku Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, stated, "We have been to an ancient church. There are doubts that this is a temple of the Udis."

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has responded to statements made by the spiritual leader of Azerbaijan, Allahshukur Pashazade, in Shushi. The head of the Inter-Church Relations Department of the Mother See, His Grace Father Shahe Ananian, called the claims about the ‘non-Armenian’ nature of the Ghazanchetsots Church "false" and accused him of attempting to create a fake agenda regarding the so-called Albanian-Udis church.

What lies behind the latest attempt by Azerbaijani religious leaders to question the ownership of Christian sacred sites in Artsakh?

It is worth noting that last week, President Aliyev's administration and the Muslim Religious Administration of Azerbaijan organized a visit for the leaders and representatives of officially recognized religious denominations in the country to Artsakh. The delegation included rabbis from the Mountain and Ashkenazi Jewish communities, the Roman Catholic Ordinary of Baku, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church's Baku Diocese, members of the Council of Gazis, as well as a certain Robert Mobilli, who is referred to in Azerbaijan as the "leader of the Albanian-Udian Christian church." They were personally accompanied by Pashazade.

Of course, the guests were taken to the Ghazanchetsots Church of the Holy Savior, which Azerbaijanis refer to as "Ghazanchi." As is known, there are attempts to alter the appearance of this temple under the pretext of restoration work to obscure its Armenian identity. The fact that the political leadership of the country has set this very challenge was essentially confirmed by Aydin Kerimov, Azerbaijan's special representative in the Shushi region, in conversations with the spiritual leaders.