Archbishop Arshak Khachatrian: Artsakh will never be considered the past

Our feelings towards Artsakh will not fade, Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Archbishop Arshak Khachatrian, said in an interview with Alpha News.

“The Artsakh issue, the exodus, everything that happened to Artsakh will, of course, remain as an open wound in the souls of all those people who continue to be loyal and emotionally attached to Armenia, the future of the Armenian people, and the Armenian identity. Unfortunately, sometimes it is not like that in our environment, on the agenda of the authorities. The political responsibility in that matter has nothing to do with the church, but it would be naive to think that the issue of preserving Artsakh is not the church’s problem,” Archbishop Khachatrian said.

Archbishop Khachatrian noted that under the conditions of the state’s confrontation, it is difficult to pursue Artsakh’s agenda.

“In any case, these instruments belong to the state; the external political and internal management resources are completely under the state’s control, and in the conditions of the state’s total confrontation, it is difficult to serve Artsakh’s preservation agenda. His Holiness also recently voiced his position that our feelings towards Artsakh will not fade and Artsakh will never be considered the past,” Archbishop Khachatrian said.

He emphasized that the steps taken by the church to preserve the Armenian identity in Artsakh are not enough.

“The issue of Armenian identity in Artsakh, the agenda of Armenian identity in Artsakh will be served by all means available to the church. The steps taken in that direction are, of course, not enough, due to the status of the church and the authorities’ denial of the Armenian identity of Artsakh. In any case, you see that this national concept continues to be preserved by the church, and we will continue to keep Artsakh in our memory,” Archbishop Khachatrian concluded.