Armenia`s ruling political force implementing malicious plan to  destroy the Armenian Church - statement

ArmInfo.It is clear that the ruling political force continues to implement its malicious plan to destroy the Armenian Church, persecuting the clergy and abusing their official powers, carrying out repression and slanderous actions  against the clergy and supporters of the Church.

This was stated in a statement issued by the bishops of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin following a meeting of bishops serving in the structures of the  Mother See of Etchmiadzin and the heads of Armenian dioceses, held on  October 16 under the chairmanship of His Holiness Catholicos of All  Armenians Garegin II.

It is noted that during the meeting, special attention was paid to  the reprehensible actions of Armenian law enforcement agencies taken  on October 15 in the Aragatsotn Diocese. In this regard, the bishops'  statement noted their outrage at the illegal actions taken by law  enforcement officials against the Aragatsotn Diocese and its primate,  as well as clergy and laity, on October 15. They stated that these  actions included completely unprovoked and unfounded searches,  deceptive detentions, concealment of the detainees' whereabouts, and  the illegal deprivation of their access to legal counsel.

The bishops noted that the same shameful arrest method was used  against the primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, Bishop Mkrtich  Proshyan, and Bishop Garegin Arsenyan, and a petition was filed for  the arrest of the diocese's chief accountant. "These illegal  anti-church actions also grossly insult and disregard the spiritual  feelings of our believers: churches are closed, scheduled services  are cancelled, and funerals are held without priests. The current  government and the country's prime minister personally bear full  responsibility for this tragic situation. They have long been  spreading hate speech and intolerance toward the Church and its  clergy, openly encroaching on the Church's centuries-old traditions,"  the bishops stated.

According to them, the above clearly demonstrates the political  nature of these clearly illegal criminal proceedings, which follow  directly on the heels of the Prime Minister's statements against the  Armenian Church.

"We call on the judicial and law enforcement bodies of the Republic  of Armenia to act exclusively within the law and not succumb to the  arbitrary actions and partisan interests of government officials who  abuse their official powers. State instruments should serve  exclusively the most important goals of national security, public  solidarity, and well-being, and not become a weapon of retaliation  that breeds internal strife and division.

We call on our clergy and believers not to give up, to maintain the  strength of faith and prayer, to not fear dangers and threats, and to  make every effort to combat the injustice and lawlessness occurring  in the country," the statement reads.

On October 15, it was reported that a group of clergy from the  Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church had been  detained. As it later emerged, the clergy were detained based on a  complaint filed by Daniel Ionisyan, head of the NGO "Union of  Informed Citizens," to the country's investigative authorities. The  complaint stemmed from an interview given on September 16 by Aram  Arakelyan, then the abbot of Hovhannavank Monastery. Arakelyan stated  on Public Television that he had been coerced into participating in  opposition rallies in 2021.

A statement from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin announced the  detention of 13 clergy, as well as the diocesan treasurer and  accountant. Meanwhile, the Investigative Committee of Armenia  announced yesterday that it had arrested three individuals in  connection with a criminal case involving coercion to participate in  public meetings, obstruction of the exercise of electoral rights, and  theft of entrusted property on an especially large scale. A number of  searches had been conducted. Let us add that all of this is happening  as part of the anti-church campaign launched by the Prime Minister of  Armenia against the Armenian Apostolic Church since May of this year.