Monday, July 9 2018 14:42

ArmInfo. The separation of pieces of religious relics is a fairly common practice throughout the  Christian world. This was stated by the religious scholar Vardan Khachatryan at a press conference on July 9, referring to the public response that a part of the Spear of Destiny, which was kept in the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, was cut off and donated to the mayor of St. Petersburg.

He noted that not only in Armenia, but throughout the world, the most  expensive Christian relics were divided into parts. The same thing  happened to the spear, the main thing is that the relic did not  suffer from this.

Referring to the recent protests against Catholicos of All Armenians  Garegin II, Khachatryan stated that these processes can lead to a  "renewal" of spiritual life, however, an approach should be found  that is satisfactory for all parties, but most importantly, decisions  should be based on the interests Armenian people. "Of course, some  changes must be made in the church, and it is obvious that solutions  can not satisfy all parties, because such a process can have a  downside, it can lead to a split in the Armenian people, and it can  grow into a major international scandal, - said Khachatryan.

Also, the religious scholar noted that society needs to understand  and clearly divide political processes from church affairs. "The  church should not be involved in the political life of the country  and put the church and power on the same plane unacceptable,"  Khachatryan stressed.

The religious scholar noted that the best way out of the situation is  the behavior of the reforms in the church. However, he said that the  grounds for the resignation of Garegin II, put forward by protesters,  are extremely unconvincing. "In particular, the protesters state that  Garegin II was elected by means of bribes, nothing of the kind  happened," the religious scholar said.

Touching upon the situation in the Constantinople Diocese of the  Armenian Apostolic Church, where they can not get rid of the locum  tenens of Aram Ateshyan, despite the dissatisfaction of the Armenian  community, Khachatryan noted that the authorities of Turkey stand  behind Atesyan and it is extremely problematic to solve this problem.  Moreover, according to the religious scholar, this could lead to the  largest conflict within the Armenian church.

Rallies are held in Armenia for several weeks demanding the  resignation of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II. In particular,  the protesters claimed that valuable exhibits were sold from the  repository of the Echmiadzin Museum, in particular, the relics of the  saints and the holy spear. In turn, representatives of the church  said that the spear was not sold, the thing is that he was cut off a  piece and presented to the mayor of one of the Russian cities. In  support of his words on July 7, the spear was taken out of the vault  and shown to the believers. However, immediately there was talk about  the authenticity of the spear.

Recall that the greatest Christian relic - the legendary spear of  legionary Guy Cassius, whom he pierced the hypochondria of Jesus  Christ, is in Armenia. The latest research, conducted by experts from  Great Britain, confirmed that it is exactly that. Other such relics  are only late copies.