On June 27, 2018, with the blessings of the Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, Rev. Father Hakob Sahakyan, Spiritual Superintendant of Akhaltsikhe and Borjomi regions (Samtskhe – Javakheti and Tsalka's General Prelacy of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia) organized a pilgrimage to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
Eighty Armenian faithful were warmly welcomed by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The meeting was warm and blissful. At the end, the pilgrims received the blessings of His Holiness. The faithful also visited the Museum of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and Saint Gayane church in the city of Etchmiadzin. Afterwards, they left for Yerablur Pantheon.
In the second half of the day, a meeting between pilgrims from Akhaltsikhe and RA Minister of Diaspora Mkhitar Hayrapetyan and Adviser to RA Prime Minister on foreign affairs Arsen Kharatyan was held at the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia. Minister Hayrapetyan warmly recalled the heroic self-defensive battles of Akhaltsikhe in 1918, as well as ancient and valuable Gospel of the village of Tsughrut. The Minister highly appreciated the heroic battle of Akhaltsikhe, which the Armenian people are proud of and the Millennial Gospel of Tsughrut as a vivid symbol of Armenianness. In his speech, the Minister of Diaspora touched upon educational and cultural issues in Georgia, emphasizing that they will always be in the center of attention of the Ministry.
Adviser to RA Prime Minister Arsen Kharatyan mentioned in his speech, that Armenian – Georgian bilateral relations are at a high level and Armenians of Georgia play a role as a bridge between two countries. He also highlighted that it is necessary to work to strengthen and deepen the relations between two nations and make them more practical for the sake of the prosperity of the people of two countries.
During the meeting, Rev. Father Hakob Sahakyan, Spiritual Superintendant of Akhaltsikhe and analyst – journalist Edward Ayvazyan touched upon educational, cultural and spiritual issues, properly presented the situation in the region. In their turn, RA Minister of Diaspora and Adviser to RA Prime Minister assured that the issues raised will be at the center of their attention.
During the meeting, Samvel Mkoyan, Deputy Executive Director of “Support to Javakheti” Foundation presented the program of creating a network of “Armath” Engineering Laboratories in Javakheti initiated by their organization. He noted that in case of appropriate assistance, they intend to open similar centers in Akhaltsikhe region. Deputy Executive Director of “Support to Javakheti” Foundation invited the RA Minister of Diaspora and Adviser to RA Prime Minister to attend the events dedicated to the Jivani's Day, which will take place on July 7, in Javakheti.
The pilgrimage was concluded with a visit to Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex. Pilgrimages expressed their deep gratitude to businessman and benefactor Andranik Baboyan, thanks to whose material support abovementioned pilgrimage to the Motherland was made.