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Armenians Fear for Cultural, Religious Sites in Nagorno-Karabakh

Jamie Dettmer

   For days now, Armenians have been bidding tearful farewells to the
   ancient Dadivank monastery in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh,
   which is in Azerbaijan.

   Russian soldiers were due to take formal control of the monastery
   Wednesday in accordance with a Kremlin-brokered cease-fire, which ended
   six weeks of fierce fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
   ownership of the landlocked mountainous redoubt. Built between the
   ninth and 13th centuries, the monastery houses the grave of St. Dadi, a
   disciple of Thaddeus the Apostle, who spread the Christian Gospel to
   Armenia-- commonly considered to be the first state in history to adopt
   Christianity.

   Despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers, Armenians are fearful for
   the monastery's fate, and they worry also about hundreds of other
   Armenian Christian churches, monuments and graveyards, which will now
   fall under control of Muslim Azerbaijanis.

   In the days leading up to the Russian peacekeepers' arrival, devout
   Armenians lit candles in the main church and four adjoining chapels,
   and they prayed before medieval frescoes and Armenian script engraved
   in the walls. Many of the Armenians said they were planning to flee the
   region, abandoning their homes and joining thousands of others. On
   November 10, the monastery's abbot ordered an evacuation to Armenia of
   significant Christian art, bells and khachkars, or cross-stones.

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