Armenia`s Ministry of Education and Science responds to Azerbaijani  mass media claims 

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.