The AAC Exarchate in Western Europe condemned the persecution of clergymen in Armenia

The Western European Exarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) issued an official statement condemning the criminal persecution of priests in Armenia and expressing its full support for Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II. The statement calls on the authorities of the country to respect the principles of the rule of law and refrain from actions that undermine the authority and mission of the Church.

As Golos Armenii reports, the document notes that the European dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church observe the events taking place in Armenia with «deep concern and anxiety». The authors of the statement emphasized that the Church has historically been the pillar of Christian faith, national identity and unity of the Armenian people, and called on the authorities to act within the framework of human rights principles.

The statement called on the Armenian government to refrain from steps «that could call into question the mission of the Church and disrupt its internal order.» The reaction came amid the arrests of several high-ranking clerics.

According to the source, the heads of three AAC dioceses — Bagrat Galstanyan, Mikael Ajapakhyan and Mkrtich Proshyan — as well as the head of the Aragatsotn Diocese Chancellery, Priest Garegin Arsenyan, are currently under arrest in various criminal cases. Tensions between the Church and the state also escalated after the incident at Hovanavank Monastery, where the abbot, who had been deprived of his dignity by the Catholicos, refused to leave his post with the support of the authorities and conducted a liturgy with the participation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and members of the government.

It should be noted that earlier, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Advisor to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia , sharply criticized the Armenian authorities, accusing them of exceeding their authority and attacking the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). The statement was a reaction to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s threats to seize state-owned churches from the church.