Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under existential threat, Father Aghan Gogchyan warns

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under possibly the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history, Father Aghan Gogchyan, Chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said on his Facebook page.

“This existential-territorial threat fully extends to all the Christian communities of Jerusalem.

The Armenian Patriarchate has recently cancelled a contract tainted with false representation, undue influence, and unlawful benefits.

Instead of providing a lawful response to the cancellation, the developers attempting to build on the Cow’s Garden have completely disregarded the legal posture of the Patriarchate toward this issue, and instead have elected for provocation, aggression, and other harassing, incendiary tactics, including destruction of property, the hiring of heavily armed provocateurs, and other instigation,” he said.

According to Fr Aghan Gogchyan, in recent days, the vast destruction and removal of asphalt on the grounds of the Armenian Quarter has been done without the presentation of permits from the municipality by neither the developer nor the police. Despite this fact, the police have chosen in the last few days to demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises.

“We plead with the entirety of the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand with the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times, as this is another clear step taken toward the endangerment of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land,” he added.