Karekin II to raise Georgian-Armenian Diocese problems

“We cooperate with the Georgian Orthodox Church, Georgian authorities and international organizations to achieve preservation of our churches and their return to the Georgian-Armenian clergy,” His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians said at a meeting with members of the Ararat youth union on February 27 in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

His Holiness Karekin II expressed the hope that the efforts will succeed in registration of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese and return of some churches.

The Georgian-Armenian Diocese has applied to the Georgian authorities demanding to return the six Armenian churches.

Currently the Diocese is waiting for a reply, and the visit of His Holiness Karekin II to Georgia can also contribute to a positive answer.

“We plan a visit to Georgia this year to meet with Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, with state officials, if possible. Certainly, we should also raise the problems of the Georgian-Armenian Diocese at these meetings, including the issue of returning the churches,” Catholicos Karekin II said.