ArmInfo.The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MOESC) of Armenia was forced to respond to the phantasmagoria of the Azerbaijani media regarding the restoration work of the Armenian churches in Tavush and Shirak.
Weeks earlier, the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia announced its intention to restore churches in the border villages of Kirants and Voskepar in the Tavush region. This message aroused painful interest in Azerbaijan, where falsification and appropriation of foreign history and culture has become the norm. Based on this reality, disinformation began to be circulated in the Azerbaijani media that the alleged purpose of the restoration work of the original Armenian churches, which are fundamentally different from any other churches, is an attempt to remove Albanian traces from the buildings. It is no secret that Azerbaijan is attempting to falsify the history of all Armenian churches, trying to attribute Albanian origin to them.
In this regard, the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia was forced to issue a statement in which they officially denied publications on various media platforms of Azerbaijan that the repair and restoration work on immovable monuments of Armenian history and culture located in the demarcation zones between Armenia and Azerbaijan (and not only) are aimed at eliminating the "Albanian traces".
"Such messages are an obvious lie, another manifestation of Azerbaijan's manipulative policy of falsifying historical facts.
In particular, the church in the village of Kirants, Tavush region of Armenia (locals call it the Holy Trinity) was built in the 19th century from local raw stone and is a three-nave Armenian basilica church.
An inscription ("1888 ami") has been preserved in the upper part of the sacristy of the south window, confirming the fact of its Armenian origin, with the date of construction and an Armenian inscription to the right of it.
This Kirants church was turned into a warehouse during the Soviet period. In 2024, with funds allocated by the Government of Armenia, work will be carried out to strengthen, repair and restore the monument, as well as draw up scientific and design documentation for the installation of a bell tower-rotunda.
The central-domed cross church of St. Astvatsatsin in Voskepar, Tavush region of the Republic of Armenia was built in the 7th century. It belongs to the buildings of the "Mastara type" of early medieval Armenian church architecture (St. Hovhannes of Mastara, St. Gregory of Harichavank, St. Gevorg of Artiki, Arakelots of Kars). The early medieval church of Voskepar underwent a major renovation in 1975-1977, but due to the penetration of moisture caused by precipitation, the roof coverings of the church were destroyed and the roof beams were damaged. In 2024, the roof of the monument will be restored at the expense of public funds," the MESCS emphasized.
The Ministry further noted that the early Christian temple of Yereruyk in the Shirak region of Armenia, which also became the object of Azerbaijani information propaganda and is presented as a Turkic monument with a false historical claim, is included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage and in the list of the most endangered cultural monuments of Europe Nostra.
The MESKS noted that the Yereruyk Basilica and its surroundings are rich in cultural layer, as evidenced by the results of research conducted in different years by Armenian and Italian archaeological expeditions.
In this vein, the department also noted that the project for the repair and restoration of the early Christian Yereruyk Basilica is being carried out within the framework of cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Science and the US Embassy in Armenia, financed by the US Ambassador's Fund for the Protection of Cultural Assets.
"The preservation, restoration and popularization of the historical and cultural heritage of the Republic of Armenia is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, and the state is constantly working in this direction.
We call on the relevant circles of Azerbaijan not to distort historical facts, and also to ensure the preservation of Armenian historical and cultural monuments under the control of Azerbaijan. In particular, to ensure visits by an international observation mission to monitor Armenian monuments on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh," noted the Armenian Ministry of Education and Science.