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Armenian Church Sues Getty Museum For Return of Bible Pages

By Howard M. Friedman

Peace FM Online and Courthouse News Service report that a lawsuit was filed last Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America against the J. Paul Getty Museum. The suit seeks return of seven illustrated pages, known as the Canon Table, taken from an illuminated Armenian Bible created by Toros Roslin for Constantine I in 1256. The suit also asks for damages of $35 million which it seeks to have trebled. The rest of the Bible, known as the "Zeyt'un Gospels" is in the Mesrob Mashotots Madenataran museum in Yerevan, Armenia. The lawsuit alleges that the pages were stolen during the Armenian Genocide of 1915-18 and that the Getty Trust knew or should have known this. The Getty says it legally acquired the pages.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 06, 2010 (boomark / email).