Artsakh Diocese Accuses Vatican Newspaper for Cultural Appropriation

The Diocese of Artsakh has labeled an article in the Vatican's official newspaper, "L'Osservatore Romano," as a service to Azerbaijani propaganda by appropriating Armenian cultural heritage. The information was reported by the Artsakh Diocese.

Recently, the Vatican's "L'Osservatore Romano" published an article titled "Journey to Ancient Caucasian Albania Towards the Roots of Christianity: Dadivank, Gandzasar and Khatravanq in the Clouds" (author: Rossella Fabiani). The piece presents famous Armenian churches in Artsakh as 'Aghvanian.'

The statement notes that by visiting the currently occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh, the author has, in accordance with Azerbaijan's narrative, attempted to breathe new life into the myth of 'Aghvanian origins' of cultural values fabricated by that country.

"This is a clear service to the Azerbaijani propaganda machine in another attempt to distort the genuine history of the spiritual and cultural heritage created by the region and its native Armenian people. Before publishing such propaganda material, the author should have at least attempted to familiarize herself with recent political events and their motivations," the statement said. "Furthermore, she should have paid attention to the actual history of Dadivank, Gandzasar, and Khatravanq, to at least one or two of the inscriptions that are scattered across their walls and surroundings, and to understand what language they are written in, or why they are written in Armenian."

The Artsakh Diocese also emphasized that such false and baseless propaganda is entirely condemnable and a show of disrespect not only towards the Armenian people and the centuries-old history of the Armenian Apostolic Church but also towards the history of global Christian civilization as a whole.