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28 April 2021
Felix Corley, Forum 18
Azerbaijan s military blocked Armenian pilgrims visiting Dadivank Monastery for Sunday worship on 25 April and the ordination of a priest. The monastery is in territory returned to Azerbaijani control after 2020 fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian peace keepers accompany pilgrims to Dadivank, but They too were surprised by the sudden denial of access, says Nagorno-Karabakh s Ombudsperson, Gegham Stepanyan. The ordination had to be moved to another monastery. Azerbaijan s Defence Ministry has not responded on why it blocked access to Dadivank.
On 25 April Azerbaijani military forces blocked Armenian Apostolic Church pilgrims access to the Dadivank Monastery. The Monastery is in territory now held by Azerbaijan, where the ordination of Deacon Manvel Sargsyan to the priesthood was due to take place that Sunday. Russian peace keepers accompanied the pilgrims to another monastery in the ethnic Armenian-controlled unrecognised entity of Nagorn