Armenian Patriarch of Türkiye condemns Last Supper parody at Paris Olympics

ISTANBUL 

Sahak Mashalian, the head of the Armenian Patriarchate in Türkiye, on Monday condemned the drag queen parody of the Last Supper at Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

Mashalian said the reenactment was intended to "demean the Christian faith. "This offensive parody intended to mock the Last Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ, the most sacred event of our faith, has profoundly wounded Christians worldwide."

He said the Olympic games should seek to foster "harmony and peace among communities."

"Instead, they have been turned into a platform for insulting and degrading a religion with over two billion adherents for the sake of a small minority," the archbishop said.

Mashalian said that the LGBT community "does not tolerate even the slightest criticism" at their rights, and this "unacceptable and disrespectful behavior" will cause damage to their own cause.

Mashalian expressed hope that "the issues which have overshadowed the Olympic Games even before they began will be resolved, allowing the games to serve their true purpose."

The reenactment of Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of Jesus Christ’s final meal with his disciples provoked a backlash, inviting criticism and denunciations from the Christian World.