Today, Christmas services are held in Armenian Apostolic churches, from the Motherland to the churches of the Diaspora settlements, but in Artsakh, temporarily occupied by Azerbaijan, not only are church bells not ringing and liturgies are not being offered, but also a number of churches were destroyed in ancient times, their authenticity was distorted and their functions were changed: turning into mosques and warehouses. Artsakh cultural ombudsman Hovik Avanesov writes about this.
On this day of Christmas, we remind the entire Christian world once again that all the historical values in Artsakh do not belong only to us, they have a universal civilizational significance and are under the threat of destruction and expropriation.
Years ago, the country that pulverized the thousand-year-old khachkars of Old Jugha at the state level continues its handwriting in the already occupied Artsakh: to erase the traces of Armenian civilization, to eliminate the certificates of the presence of the Armenian people in that part of its historical cradle, in Artsakh.
Cultural vandalism is being committed in Artsakh, which is a component of genocide. When some years ago the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris was threatened by a certain fire and the famous fire took place, the entire Christian world considered it a pain in their own soul and took on the task of repairing the cathedral, because it is a part of world culture. is a value.
And aren't the first Christian churches built in Artsakh, the history of which goes back to the 4th century and are also a cultural value with their architecture, the civilizational property of mankind?
And political double standards should have no place, at least in matters of culture.
Meanwhile, as we can see, political interests have their manifestation here as well, which deserves the strictest condemnation.
