Armenian community in Georgia holds rally in support of AAC

ArmInfo. In Tbilisi, the Armenian community of Georgia held a rally under the slogan "Stay away from the Armenian Apostolic Church" in support of the Armenian Apostolic  Church (AAC) and the protection of national values. This was reported  by the press service of the Armenian Community of Georgia.

During the rally, the chairman of the public organization "Armenian  Community of Georgia" Artur Mirzoyan made a statement condemning the  policy pursued by the Armenian authorities. In his speech, he  emphasized that at a time when the Armenian people are facing the  grave consequences of the forced displacement of the population of  Artsakh, the illegal trial of Armenian prisoners of war and political  figures in Baku, as well as territorial losses and a crisis of  national dignity, the attack on the church is a blow to the  foundations of Armenianism.

"The Armenian Apostolic Church has been the foundation of our  struggle, revival and survival, the guardian of our conscience and  soul for centuries. Today, when a cleric in Sardarapat voices the  church's unchanging position, the authorities respond with contempt  and abuse. When the Catholicos of All Armenians raises the issue of  Artsakh's cultural heritage on international platforms, he is met  with accusations and distorted formulations. This is not a  coincidence, but a deliberate policy," the statement reads.

In this regard, it is emphasized that such a policy is aimed at  undermining and destroying identity, emptying the content of national  statehood and weakening the collective resistance of the Armenian  people.

For several days now, Nikol Pashinyan has not stopped targeting the  Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC).  First, at a government meeting, he  compared Armenian churches to closets. Then followed his statements  on social networks, where the Armenian Prime Minister used rude  language towards the hierarchs of the AAC and accused one of the  archbishops of sexual promiscuity.

At the same time, the Prime Minister demanded that all priests who  violated their vow of celibacy be defrocked. Similar attacks were  made by the Prime Minister's wife, Anna Hakobyan, who called the  Patriarch "the main mafioso".

These statements provoked a sharp reaction from the clergy. Amid the  scandal, Pyashinyan called for "effective steps" that would lead to  the replacement of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and  announced the creation of a special coordination group to "liberate  the Residence of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin" and resolve  organizational issues for holding new elections of the Catholicos.   Pashinyan specified that followers of the AAC could become members of  the Coordination Group. At the same time, the Prime Minister intends  to choose the first 10 members of the Coordination Group himself.