The Mother Cathedral Issues Clarification

The Director of the Information System of the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, Reverend T. Esayi Kahan Artsenyan, assures that there is no icon of any benefactor inside the Mother Cathedral and that none has ever existed.

A segment of the film aired on the "Yerkir Media" television channel titled "Compensation: Corruption-2" featuring a character who depicted himself instead of the crucified Jesus, sparked active discussion and criticism online. The television channel responded with clarification, stating that the authors of the film did not intend to mock the Armenian Apostolic Church or Christian faith, but rather mock those who ridicule the faith and their "sacred" blasphemers under the guise of the faith.

The newspaper "Hraparak" recently addressed this issue in an article by Naira Vanyan, recalling contemporary examples. Notably mentioning the name "Karen Karapetyan," who has contributed to the restoration of the Mother Cathedral and allegedly "left his 'icon' inside the Mother Cathedral's walls." We do not know who the article's author refers to and regarding which icon, however, we want to emphasize that there is no icon of any benefactor inside the Mother Cathedral and that none has ever existed. Images of national benefactors are placed in various structures of the Mother Cathedral in honor of their contributions to the construction or reconstruction of those respective structures.