Friday, May 3 2019 17:45

ArmInfo. The first meeting of the working group on relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church took place.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia  Nikol Pashinian and the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

In his welcoming speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan, in particular,  noted: "As a result of discussions with the Supreme Patriarch, we  came to the conclusion that it is necessary to create a working group  to regulate the relations of the RA government and the Holy Armenian  Apostolic Church in order to have a permanent working format, discuss  and solve emerging issues. I want to say that one of the key points  of the election program of the "My step" bloc is the question of  preserving our national identity". According to Pashinyan, this issue  has been in the constituent program of the force headed by him since  2013.

At the same time, he stressed the need to clarify how the views of  the government and the Church are identical on various issues: "We  must try to understand each situation and listen to all the  arguments. We must leave the field of arbitrary decisions and take  clearly reasoned, informed decisions. The very first question to be  answered is whether we differentiate the history of the Armenian  people from the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church? If so, why?  If not, why?, etc.".

Another question, according to the prime minister, is related to the  AAC real estate, property tax: "We need to understand what approach  to take here, because it is not yet clear whether this movable  property is homogeneous or not, whether a tax approach should be  applied to various segments of this property or No, in the case of  the application, should it be one or not? I have already discussed  this topic with the Catholicos, and this is especially relevant in  light of the fact that today we are conducting an extended campaign,  urging citizens to pay taxes, because as a result of these paid  taxes, the amount of work that the government must do is formed and  drawn up. In this issue, we need the support of the Armenian  Apostolic Church. Thank God that our call has been worth  understanding>.

The prime minister assured that this year the government will  overfulfill the state budget revenues by at least 40 billion drams,  which will make it possible to raise the salaries of the military,  teachers, and make serious capital expenditures in various fields.

He again urged to discuss all the accumulated issues in an open,  constructive atmosphere.

The prime minister assured that reading the Bible has become a new  starting point in his life: "The teaching of Christianity in all  respects, including in terms of state-building, is revolutionary. I  am confident that this doctrine can open the door to happiness not  only for the Armenian people, but also for all mankind, "said  Pashinyan, stressing that Christian values can and should serve to  strengthen the Republic of Armenia and the prosperity of the Armenian  people.

"I don't know whether such a format existed in the past or not, but I  am sure that this is an important stage for us, because structural  questions without dark corners should really be given to questions.  From time to time, we will discuss the issues raised during our  periodic meetings, but I hope that as a result of the work of the  working group, we will hear more solutions than problems, "Pashinyan  concluded.

In turn, the Catholicos of All Armenians expressed satisfaction with  the meeting of the working group in terms of achieving results in  regulating Church-State relations. "This is a good opportunity to  discuss issues of mutual interest and find ways to solve them in  order to achieve the mission of our Church, in the name of our  country and people".  According to him, the expansion of Church-State  cooperation should help strengthen the national and spiritual life of  the people, families, the brightness of the church and the power of  the state, the formation of a conscious and law-abiding citizen.