Religious relics from the vandalized St. Mark Church in Akhaltkhe were found in a nearby trash bin

The Sourp Neshan (St. Mark) Armenian Church in Akhaltskha, Georgian was vandalized by unknown assailants who entered the church and removed religious relics, which were later found in a nearby trash bin.

Reverend Hakob Sahakyan, the spiritual leader of Akhatkha, which is the Armenian-populated Samtskhe-Javakheti district of Georgia posted videos of the incident on social media platforms on Wednesday.

He announced that Armenian church officials have reported the incident to relevant authorities and called for clarification and the identification of the individuals responsible for this latest anti-Armenian incidents in the region.

“We want relevant authorities to respond and for the church to be monitored so that such incidents do not occur and for our community to not be misled, in order to avoid our communities from turning against each other,” Sahakyan said, fearing that it could be deliberate act aimed a sowing schism between the Armenian and Georgian communities.

Sahakyan explained that most of the damaged or discarded items were of Armenian origin, while there were also some that were Georgian. He warned against allowing the incident to create tensions or misunderstandings between Armenians and Georgians.

Images and videos circulating online showed relics and photographs placed on the ground near a trash area outside the church grounds, which infuriated the local Armenian community, who took to social media to condemn the vandalism.

Local media outlets reported that Georgia’s Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into the incident. Authorities have yet to announce whether a suspect or suspects have been apprehended.

The St. Mark (Sourp Neshan) Church is one the most important Armenian religious sites in Javakhk and serves the Akhaltskha and surrounding communities.

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