Rev. Fr. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan: If the issue is resolved, the people of Artsakh will return

Speaking with Alpha News, Rev. Fr. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, the spiritual pastor of the St.Vardanants Martyrs Church in Yerablur and the former abbot of Dadivank, said that we left Artsakh.

“If the issue of Artsakh is resolved today, the people of Artsakh will definitely return. But since that issue will not be resolved peacefully, they won’t. We must keep and preserve our cultural values and preach to our people that they strive not for material but for spiritual values. They know that Artsakh is where it was. We left Artsakh. Our monasteries, churches, and sanctuary are waiting for us. We will return,” Rev. Fr. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan said.

Rev. Fr. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan noted that during the Soviet years, the people of Artsakh did not even know how to cross themselves, but they believed in God.

“During the Soviet years, no church functioned in Artsakh, but other sects could not enter there. The people know that Gandzasar is our church, regardless of their faith and whether they know the holidays or not, they still love, respect and accept it. They accepted that there is a church and that there is God, but they did not know the laws. It was like this in Soviet times. But in 1989, when the Diocese of Artsakh was reopened, Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan was appointed the leader, and the first church that was consecrated was the Gandzasar Monastery. The people came there; they did not know how to cross themselves or how to pray, but they accepted that it was the temple of God; it was the house of God,” our interlocutor concluded.