Georgian diocese, Armenian Church met with the president of Bundestag president,
The head of Georgian diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church met with the president of Bundestag, Professor Norbert Lammert on Friday.
The meeting was held on the initiative of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Mr. Ortwin Hennig, at the Embassy of Germany in Georgia.
High-ranking clergymen representing Georgian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, German Lutheran and Evangelical Baptist Churches, Chief Rabbi of Jewish community, the spiritual leader of Yazidi community and, of course, the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, attended the meeting.
The president of Bundestag and other high-level guests inquired about the religious tolerance in Georgia and the mutual cooperation among Christian, Islamic, Jewish and other religious communities.
The Primate of the Diocese presented the history of the Armenian Church and Diocese in Georgia and raised main concerns of the Church and community.
The Primate highlighted that despite difficulties, the mutual cooperation among religious communities continues. As for the cooperation with Georgian government – the Diocese anticipates to resolve the issue of restitution of its historical churches.
Professor Norbert Lammert asked the Primate about the mutual relations between Armenian and Islamic communities and between Armenians and Turks in Georgia in view of the approaching 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The president of Bundestag noted that the entire Europe is aware of the genocide against Armenians committed hundred years ago and carefully observe Armenian-Turkish relations; all the Armenian communities plan to hold commemorative events related to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. High-level guests also inquired about how many refugees Georgia accepted during the genocide
His Grace thanked Professor Norbert Lammert for his attention to the great pain of Armenian people and said that despite historic events, Armenian and Islamic communities in Georgia coexist peacefully. He noted that nearly one third of Armenians in Georgia are the descendants of the Armenian genocide victims; Armenian community plans to hold events dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and thus to speak out for justice. The primate also thanked Georgian authorities and all religious communities, who always support Armenian community and share its grief.
The statistic data on mixed ethnic marriages and multicultural cooperation was discussed as well.