The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has issued a firm response to controversial remarks made by Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, head of the Caucasus Muslims Office, during a recent Council of Qazis meeting in Baku. The Armenian Church denounced his statements as historically inaccurate and inflammatory.
At the session, Pashazade claimed that ancient Armenian religious sites — including the 1,700-year-old Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin — are located on what he described as “historical Azerbaijani lands.” He went further, characterizing the Armenian Apostolic Church as a threat to regional stability.
The Mother See strongly rejected these assertions, describing them as a “string of absurd claims.” In its statement, the Church emphasized that Armenia’s Christian heritage is well-documented and globally recognized, with roots stretching back thousands of years.
“It is especially ironic,” the statement noted, “that the spiritual leader of a people who only received the ethnonym ‘Azerbaijani’ during the Soviet nation-building efforts of the 1930s seeks to cast doubt on the authenticity of the Armenian nation’s millennia-old cultural and spiritual legacy.”
The Church’s response highlights the ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan over historical narratives and cultural heritage, particularly in the wake of recent conflicts in the region.
