On November 22, 2018, members of the Tolerance Club in Adjara visited the “Holy Savior” (Surb Prkich) church in Batumi of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Holy Church.
The members of the club were welcomed by Rev. Father Ararat Gumbalyan, Pastor of the church and local Armenians. The latter informed them that Armenian Church in Batumi was first build in 1879. It was wooden and very soon damaged.
In 1885, the wooden church was destroyed and a new stone temple was built. The church was functioning until 1930. During the Soviet era, the church stopped its activities, turning into another entity.
In 1992, at the request of the Armenians living in Batumi and the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, the church was returned to the community and was reconstructed, re-consecrated and started to implement its ritual functions and activity.
Rev. Father Ararat also told the guests about the activities of the Alexander Mantashev Center (Batumi) of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, spoke about national culture, traditions, customs, as well as the large-scale festivals, contests, artistic events which are regularly held in the church and in its educational and cultural center.
The guests thanked the Pastor of the Armenian Church for the reception and information.
The visit was organized under the slogan “Intercultural Integration in Adjara”, within the framework of the “Free Journalists’ House” project, which was implemented with the support from the “Open Society – Georgia” Foundation.