The participants of the Assembly of the Congregation held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin from June 16-21 issued a statement regarding the recent anti-church campaign unleashed by the Armenian authorities.
The statement reads: “Our Assembly of the Congregation of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, gathered in Holy Etchmiadzin on the occasion of the blessed feasts of the Araratian week, participating in the 9th Assembly of the Congregation, faithful to our sacred vow, reaffirms our filial love and unconditional devotion to the Armenian Church, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Supreme Patriarch of our people, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. We consider the anti-church and anti-national course of the authorities on the Republic Day of Armenia in its various manifestations unacceptable and reprehensible. As a lesson from the patriarchs of the Armenian Church, we call on our beloved faithful people in Mother Armenia and the Diaspora.
To remain steadfast in their holy and true faith, as devoted and loyal children of the Mother Church, not succumbing to malicious provocations and fleeting anti-national manifestations, maintaining common sense, good manners and decency. To defend the highest values of the Fatherland and the Church with love and unwavering faith, placing them above personal and group interests, in favor of the unity and peace of the nation and the state.
To stand firmly on the foundations of national identity, to preserve the national-spiritual image and jointly overcome external and internal dangers and threats, in accordance with the call of the Holy Apostle: “…Be one, create peace. and may the God of peace and love be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11).
We call on the authorities of the Homeland:
To stop the attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, the Catholicos of All Armenians and all the clergy, which not only insult the spiritual and religious feelings of the Armenian believers, but also threaten public solidarity and can lead to grave consequences, harming the security of our people, state and statehood.
In the context of the military actions unfolding in our region, it is necessary to engage with all responsibility in confronting the most serious security challenges facing the state, including in the direction of maintaining intra-social solidarity and national unity, for the benefit of the well-being of our people.
Consistently promote the protection of the rights of the internally displaced Artsakh Armenians and the solution of social problems, as well as take measures to preserve the historical, spiritual and cultural heritage of Artsakh, which is today under threat of destruction.
In the face of various challenges facing the Homeland and the Church, We, the brothers of the Mother See of the Church, having as our allies the brothers of the Patriarchal Thrones of the Armenian Church, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, the Armenian Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Constantinople, as vigilant servants of Almighty God and spiritual ministers of the pious Armenian people, with a high consciousness of our calling, united and united, will continue to selflessly carry out the sublime historical mission of spiritual salvation and preservation of the nation of the Armenian Church, for the glory of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and for the creation of the Armenian world.