The Western Azerbaijan Community has established a Working Group to study the Albanian Christian heritage across present-day Armenia, historical Zangezur, Daralayaz, and Goycha Lake basins, the Community told APA.
According to the Community, the Working Group will conduct scholarly research, using archival documents and primary sources, into the history, origins, and architectural and epigraphic characteristics of churches, chapels, cross-stones, and monasteries in the area.
“There is a widespread belief in Azerbaijani academic community that the documents of the Albanian Catholicosate from the 16th to 19th centuries have been completely destroyed. The losses are undeniable, however numerous documents and sources concerning both the Albanian Catholicoses and the religious and social history of the period are preserved in archives and manuscript collections in several countries, and some have already been published. These materials are scattered across various collections. The primary mission of the Working Group is to identify them through systematic searches and compile them into a unified scientific database. The Western Azerbaijan Community currently possesses hundreds of documents on this subject.
The visit by foreign diplomats to the Ganjasar Monastery complex this September demonstrated that cultural heritage has moved onto the diplomatic agenda. The Western Azerbaijan Community regards the multi-layered religious and cultural heritage within the territory of present-day Armenia, including medieval monuments of Caucasian Albania, as an integral part of its own heritage as the descendants of deported Azerbaijanis. In the international academic community, this position can be substantiated only by facts grounded in source material and by research subject to independent verification. The research will also serve to document the historical and cultural foundations for the safe and dignified return of the deported population,” the Community noted.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
