How Church Representatives Reacted to the Installation of Christ's Statue

Statues are not in line with our church's tradition, but we will respond comprehensively on this topic shortly. This was stated by Father Esayi Kahnayan, the director of the Information System of the Mother See, in an interview with NEWS.am, referring to the recent announcement made on the Facebook page of Gagik Tsarukyan, the president of the Prosperous Armenia Party, regarding a contest to erect a statue of Jesus Christ on the heights of Armenia.

"The Mother See will discuss this issue, and we will issue a statement. I can say that there has been no discussion on this matter," said the director of the Mother See's Information System.

His Grace Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, deemed the idea unclear and unacceptable in a conversation with the media, emphasizing that the installation of a statue is not appropriate to the traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

"I do not know what purpose this serves. Especially at this time, it is incomprehensible to me to implement such a project. No matter how symbolic our Lord's figure may be, there is no meaning to it in this context. What purpose is behind this? Today, we have many pressing issues to solve – including those related to our borders," noted the Bishop.