A Working Group has been established in the Western Azerbaijan Community to study the Albanian Christian heritage located in the territory of the present-day Republic of Armenia, in the historical Zangazur, Daralayaz and Lake Goycha basin.
The Community told Modern.az that the group was established to research the history, architectural and epigraphic features, and affiliation of churches, chapels, cross-stones and monasteries using scientific methods based on archival documents and other primary sources.
In the Azerbaijani scientific community, the idea that the documents of the Albanian Catholicate of the 16th-19th centuries were completely destroyed is widespread. Losses are undeniable, but numerous documents and sources related to both Albanian Catholicoses and the religious and social history of the period are preserved in the archives and manuscript funds of a number of countries, and some have already been published. These materials are scattered in various funds. Their systematic search, discovery and collection in a single scientific database is the main mission of the Working Group. Currently, hundreds of documents on this topic already exist in the Western Azerbaijan Community.
The visit of foreign diplomats to the Gandzasar monastery complex in September of this year showed that cultural heritage has entered the diplomatic agenda. The Western Azerbaijan Community considers the multi-layered religious and cultural heritage in the territory of present-day Armenia, including the medieval monuments of Caucasian Albania, as an integral part of its heritage, as heirs of the deported Azerbaijanis. This position can only be substantiated in the international scientific community by facts based on sources and verifiable research. The research will also serve to document the historical and cultural foundations for the safe and dignified return of the deported population.
