Coordination Council for the Reformation of the Armenian Apostolic Church established in Armenia

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the creation of a coordination council to organize the process of reforming the Armenian Apostolic Church. The decision comes amid allegations of a crisis in spiritual life, internal governance and the Church’s excessive involvement in political processes.

As Armenia Today reports, the statement on the creation of the council was signed by the Prime Minister and ten bishops, who had previously publicly demanded the resignation of the current leadership of the Church. All signatories, including the prime minister, were included in the newly created coordination council. The text of the statement read out by Pashinyan says that the Church should not be used in the interests of various agendas and external forces, and that spiritual and moral principles should be restored.

Several key steps are outlined as a roadmap for reforms. These include a public announcement of the reform agenda, a call for the departure of the current de facto head of the church, the election of the Catholicos’ abbot, and the adoption of a new charter for the church. This charter should include mechanisms for financial transparency and ensuring the moral behavior of the clergy. The final stage will be the election of the Catholicos in the prescribed manner.

We would like to remind that earlier we reported that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made an appeal to the citizens to take part in the procession to be held on January 6, the day of celebration of the Holy Nativity of Christ by the Armenian Apostolic Church. The procession, according to the Prime Minister, is called not only to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and reaffirm fidelity to the sacred traditions of the AAC, but also to express support for the process of its reform, the roadmap of which was presented earlier.