The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau has condemned the court proceedings beginning on August 7 against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and several senior clergymen, calling on citizens to rally around the Church, according to a statement issued by the party.
The statement says the authorities’ actions against the Church are unconstitutional and anti-national.
“We are confronting one of the most disgraceful facts in the history of the Armenian people, one without historical precedent. The regime’s deliberate targeting and persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church have crossed every red line. Court proceedings have been initiated against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and several senior clergymen within the framework of unlawfully instituted criminal proceedings.
For centuries, the Armenian Apostolic Church has been and remains an unwavering pillar of the Armenian people’s spiritual, national and cultural identity. It has guided our people through the most difficult trials and preserved our sacred faith, national identity, language and centuries-old values.
The actions of the Armenian authorities against the Church’s authority and its spiritual mission are unconstitutional and anti-national. In this way, the constitutional principle of separation between state and Church is fundamentally undermined, the right to freedom of conscience and spiritual dignity of thousands of believers is violated, divisions within society are deepened, the foundations of our identity are weakened, and state and public life are subjected to further upheaval.
As faithful children of the Armenian Apostolic Church, we condemn the unlawful actions adopted by the authorities and, with unwavering confidence, reaffirm our full support for the Church and His Holiness the Catholicos of All Armenians.
We call on the judicial and law enforcement system to remain within the bounds of constitutional order and the laws of the Republic of Armenia and not succumb to the pressure of political machinations. Matters related to the administration of dioceses and, more broadly, to canon law and internal procedures fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Church, and any interference is unacceptable.
We call on our compatriots, guided by national consciousness and the principles of solidarity, to preserve national unity and rally around the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, its spiritual mission and His Holiness the Catholicos of All Armenians,” the statement said.
