“The authorities want to destroy everything in Yerevan”

"Demolition of the summer hall of Moscow Cinema and erection of a church on the site is mere barbarism," says architect Eduard Hovhannisyan.

The architect says the authorities want to destroy everything in the capital and advises them to rebuild the rundown churches.

"The cinema has become a universal pride, even foreign architects admire the building's architectural value," observed Mr. Hovhannisyan. "It is unfortunate that we have such a government and clergymen who brutally destroy our city. It really hurts me. Leave this city alone!"

Architect Koryun Hakobyan considers the idea of demolition a bluff. "Under the guise of construction, the authorities will pull down the summer hall and build something else instead," he says.

Priest Astghik Karapetyan is of a different opinion.

"As a priest and a Yerevan citizen, I would like my children to hear the sweet bells of churches and ringing of psalms when walking in Yerevan streets instead of deafening clatter of night clubs and their ads," she said.

Moscow Cinema Ltd has applied to the Government with a proposal to allot the territory of the summer hall to Mother See of Holly Etchmiadzin. The latter is to erect a church in the place of destroyed St. Peter and Paul Church.

The decision to destroy the summer hall has aroused a great public resonance in Armenia and in the Diaspora.
The Armenian public considers that this decision should be taken not only by the Armenian Church and the current owner of the cinema but also the residents of the capital city and representatives of different public strata.

 

Source: The Armenian News by A1+