bellthecat Posted September 25, 2002 Report Share Posted September 25, 2002 MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION OF ANI CATHEDRAL OPENED Did Catholocos Karekin or his subordinates lift a finger to stop the damage to Ani caused by the stome quarrying for his new cathedral in Yerevan? No, he did not! Did Armenia's representative at UNESCO do anything more than repeatedly deny any damage was being caused when Turkey raised the matter with UNESCO? No, he did not! And, for that matter, has Claude Moutafian and his fellow French academics from the Sorbonne done anything to protest against the damage to Ani caused by the Turkish restorations and ham-fisted excavations? No, they have not, even though they are part of a Franco-Turkish team working at Ani. So, Karekin wants a "complete reconstruction" of the cathedral. In recent years there have been many "restorations" of historic churches in Armenia undertaken by the Armenian church. Most have been just as damaging to these important monuments as the Turkish "restorations" at Ani. This is because they are undertaken not to conserve the church but to return it to a fully rebuilt state in order that it can be used by the Armenian Church. Karekin's concept of a "complete reconstruction" of the cathedral, just like the Turkish Ministry of Culture's restorations at Ani, goes completely against all the accepted methods of modern archaeological conservation. What right does this head of a repressive and out-moded religious cult have to comment on matters of art and culture? For him and his Church, the cathedral is worthless as an historical monument. The Armenian church has no more right to decide on the future of the Ani cathedral than a group of neo-Pagans have a right to decide on the future of the Parthenon. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nairi Posted September 26, 2002 Report Share Posted September 26, 2002 This is very sad indeed. Thanks for bringing it to our attention Steve. Nairi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.