Catholicosate of Great House of Cilicia supports Garegin II and AAC  clergy 

ArmInfo. The Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia (GHC) supports Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC),  rejecting any encroachment on them. This is stated in the statement  of the GHC, adopted following the work of the meeting held by  Catholicos of the GHC Aram I.

The meeting, in particular, discussed the aggressive position taken  by the Armenian authorities towards the Catholicos of All Armenians  and the high-ranking clergy of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin. In this  regard, the meeting recorded that the relevant articles of the  Constitution of the Republic of Armenia on the relations between the  state and the church are separate, and therefore, the AAC is  independent from the state. Raising issues through such interference  contradicts the requirements of the Basic Law of the country.

In addition, the GHC believes that issues related to the church and  the clergy are considered in accordance with the church charter.  Therefore, the state has no legal grounds to interfere in matters  related to the church and the clergy. At the same time, the style  used for public discussion of church issues clearly deserves  condemnation.

"In the face of existential problems and security threats facing the  historical homeland, it is necessary to work purposefully to counter  threats to its existence, rejecting such schismatic and divisive  attempts," the VDK statement says.

For a long time now, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has not  stopped targeting the Armenian Apostolic Church. First, at a  government meeting, he compared Armenian churches to closets. Then  followed his statements on social networks, where the Armenian prime  minister used coarse language against 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. The Prime Minister's wife, Anna  Hakobyan, made similar attacks, calling 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 for "the  liberation of the Residence of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin"  and the settlement of organizational issues for holding new elections  for the Catholicos. Pashinyan clarified 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.