Ruins of St. Minas Church in Tbilisi destroyed by Georgian Orthodox Church
DECEMBER 26, 2019 – ERKIR – CULTURE.
St. Minas Church in downtown Tbilisi lives its fateful days without a roof, collapsed walls and landfill. The remains of the once ancient Armenian church are constantly being destroyed. Even in 2014, the church, which collapsed on the roof, continues to remind those around us that there used to be a house of God proudly raised here. Recently, the danger of the church being eliminated has become more apparent.
On December 20, 2019, at around 3:00 pm, firefighters were completely destroyed due to firefighters’ alarms.
At the brink of destruction, the neglected house of God is awaiting its final demise, and is helped by residents who openly fence, store, and auxiliary buildings the church and its surroundings, leaving homeless people homeless.
Fear is the Armenian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The church has always been in the focus of the diocese’s attention, but the diocese cannot care for the church because it is on the list of “controversial” churches of the Georgian Church whose “fate” remains uncertain for many years. St. Minas Church is not in dispute. It is an Armenian church and should be returned to the diocese. Both the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin have repeatedly appealed to the Georgian Orthodox Church to return to the Diocese and care for the Armenian Diocese. Numerous letters were sent to the Georgian authorities, relevant bodies, and the state of the church was presented, but no change. Hopefully, the authorities and the Georgian Orthodox Church are still serious about the destruction of the Christian temple.
The St. Minas Armenian Church in Yerevan is located not far from the Church of Nor Etchmiadzin in the Havlabar district. According to preserved records, St. Minas was built in 1790. Initially, the church was not a large structure, and in 1870 there was a need to enlarge the church building. On January 2, 1883, St. Minas of Yerevan was already occupied in the place of the old church. In Soviet times the church was deprived of its dome and used as a workshop. Since the collapse of the USSR, St. Minas of Yerevan has been listed among the “disputed” churches.
Georgian-Armenian
Armenian prelature
ORIGINE SOURCES-asbarez.com/eng/360701/ Destruction-of-Tbilisi-Saint-Minas-Eke /
