The spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, warned bishops against participating in anti-canonical services organized by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
"The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin strongly condemns the organization by the authorities under the leadership of the Prime Minister of the rites of the 'liturgy' in churches of various dioceses with the forceful intervention of law enforcement agencies, a gross violation of church charters and canons, as well as the constitution and legislation of Armenia, insulting the religious feelings of believers and sowing schism," the statement said.
It is noted that the participation of any bishop in these "services", bypassing the spiritual authority of the ruling bishop, with disregard for the accepted church order and regulations, is a gross canonical violation, which happened in the diocese of Shirak, in the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin (Seven Wounds) in Gyumri.
"While still refraining from applying strict measures, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin calls on the bishops who have canonically sinned to stop the path of error and public appearances with false and fictitious content, return to the canonical field, following the time-honored traditions of our Holy Church, act exclusively in the spiritual sphere and with a high awareness of the preservation of legality and unity, which is a duty, a vocation. and the mission of the bishop as a minister endowed with apostolic succession," the statement says.
Relations between the Armenian authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) sharply deteriorated after Pashinyan posted offensive posts against the AAC on social media in late May, including using profanity. Later, he proposed to change the procedure for electing the Catholicos of All Armenians and to assign a decisive role to the state in this process.
Businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, who stood up for the church, was arrested, which caused outrage among numerous representatives of the diaspora around the world, who told RIA Novosti that political persecution of the church and its supporters was unacceptable. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who heads the "Holy Struggle" movement, was also arrested. He was the leader of the demonstrators who demanded the resignation of the prime minister in 2024. At the end of June, the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, was arrested in Yerevan. A case was opened against him and he was accused of calling for the seizure of power. The hierarch himself called these accusations fabricated. Before Ajapakhyan's arrest, Armenian National Security Service officers arrived at the residence of the Catholicos of All Armenians in Etchmiadzin to detain the archbishop, but were rebuffed by believers and priests.
Four senior hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church are currently in custody on various charges. The AAC considers their persecution illegal.

According to the materials of RIA Novosti