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Compiled by Messenger Staff
Thursday, December 23
Armenian Patriarch talks about Armenian churches in Georgia

The Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II received European Parliament’s rapporteur for Armenia Tomasz Poreba and was accompanied by MP Artak Zakaryan, 24 hours reports.

His Holiness Karekin II spoke of the difficulties the Armenian Apostolic church faced in 1915 and Soviet period, the consequences of which are still noticeable, stated the press service of Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to NEWS.am. He also touched upon relations between the church and state, as well as cooperation in different spheres for the good of the Armenian people.

Regional problems and the efforts taken by the Armenian Church to resolve them were discussed as well. They also stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution for the Karabakh conflict, the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage by Azerbaijan, as well as problems concerning the return of Armenian churches from Georgia and the legal status of the Armenian diocese in Georgia.

NEWS.am claims there are only two churches currently in Tbilisi. ‘However, there are four other churches in Georgia, which are regarded as disputable by the Georgian side’, the agency says.



Russian Commersant publishes article about opening of Memorial of Glory in Moscow

The Russian edition of Commersant published an article about the opening of the analogue for the Memorial of Glory in Moscow, 24 hours reports.

The author of the article said that Nino Burjanadze should be offered the order of General Karbishyev, since she ‘stood in shoes and thin socks during the whole ceremony. She looked quite bare (in regards to her clothing). The temperature was 10 degrees below zero’.

According to the article, when the ceremony started, the announcer declared the names of the attendees: ‘Russian PM Vladimir Putin, Vice Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobianyn, Nino Burjanashvili, and Zurab Naghoideli’. Zurab Noghaideli displayed no reaction to the incorrect pronunciation of his surname. As for Nino Burjanadze, she seemed embarrassed, but it was due to the fact that she stood in shoes despite cold temperatures and high winds.

I also noticed while observing the memorial that the Georgian Kantaria was shorter than the Russian Egorov. When I asked the sculptor if the difference in the height was accidental, he answered: 'No, it is a political issue. Ethos… you can guess who should be taller’, the journalist said.