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"We desire to thank the Soviet Power for its religious tolerance," read a resolution adopted by the Gregorian Congress, "and to express our deep satisfaction with the Soviet Government's unshakeable policy of Peace."
While doubters abroad wondered if the Erivan Congress was a setup, Soviet officials reaffirmed their belief in Lenin's slogan: "Religion is opium for the people," pointed to the new Gregorian Catholicos as a bit of living proof that the Soviet Government tolerates even "opium" in small quantities, for its own purposes.