PanARMENIAN.Net - Fifteen pilgrims from Nagorno-Karabakh were able to visit the medieval Armenian monastery of Dadivank on Sunday, February 14, Zvezda TV reports.
The temple came under Azerbaijan's control following the 44-day war in Karabakh in fall 2020. Armenian believers, however, can visit the site again under the protection of Russian peacekeepers deployed to the area since November.
The Sunday's pilgrimage came a week after an incident between the Russian peacekeepers and Azeri troops, who barred churchgoers from entering the monastery on February 7.
A group of pilgrims, as well as clergymen who were supposed to replace those serving on the monastery, set off from Stepanakert in the early hours of February 7. But although the group were accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, they were not allowed to enter the building.
The Azeri troops said they had not been informed about the visit and ordered the pilgrims to wait in a nearby village before they make clarifications, the report says. However, when the group and the peacekeepers returned to the church after three hours, they were banned from entering again, with the Azerbaijanis revealing that they have an order to prohibit the entry of not only the pilgrims, but also clergymen. After lengthy negotiations, the group had to return to Stepanakert in the evening.
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