Armenian Church does not enter into provocation imposed by Armenian  authorities - expert

ArmInfo. The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) is not participating in the provocation imposed by the Armenian authorities, rejecting the artificially created rules of  confrontation. Political scientist Suren Sureniants wrote this on his  Facebook page, reacting to the ruling political force "Civil  Contract," led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, organizing a  liturgy at the "Seven Wounds" Church in Gyumri, in the absence of  representatives of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic  Church.

According to the political scientist, the events at the "Seven  Wounds" Church, as well as the subsequent statements, indicate that  the authorities are moving to a new, more escalating phase of their  anti-church campaign. As Sureniants noted, Pashinyan has thus  recorded yet another instance of violation of law and order and  church canons. "Essentially, state security forces established  control over the Seven Wounds Church in Gyumri, under conditions  where not a single clergyman of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian  Apostolic Church agreed to conduct a prayer service without  mentioning the name of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and the  head of the diocese. This event is yet another manifestation of the  state system's pressure on the Church and an attempt to disrupt the  internal order of the Gyumri Church and its historical traditions,"  the political scientist emphasized.

Sureniants also commented on the statement by Speaker of the National  Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan that "the time has come to hold the  next liturgy in the Mother See of Etchmiadzin," and stated that the  statement, made by the country's second-highest-ranking government  official, cannot be interpreted as a personal opinion. The political  scientist is certain that this is nothing more than a manifestation  of the authorities' collective intent to shift the pressure to the  Mother See of Etchmiadzin and attempt to draw the Catholicos of All  Armenians into a direct confrontation. In the current situation, as  Sureniants noted, the Mother See of Etchmiadzin's announcement to  temporarily postpone the bishops' meeting is of key importance.

"This is not a retreat, but a balanced and far-sighted decision. In a  situation where the authorities' tactics are based on exacerbating  the confrontation, the Catholicos consciously rose above this  provocation, thereby reminding us that the strength of the Armenian  Apostolic Church is determined not by momentary political tensions,  but by the depth of time and historical continuity. All of this  creates a clear context: the authorities' anti-church policy has  reached a point where direct pressure on His Holiness and the Mother  See of Etchmiadzin is now possible. However, the Armenian Apostolic  Church does not engage in provocations imposed by the authorities and  does not accept artificially created rules of confrontation. And  where there is historical self-awareness, strong will, and prudence,  final victory becomes a reality and naturally takes shape over time,"  the political scientist concluded.

On December 7, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the  so-called liturgy at the "Seven Wounds" Church in Gyumri. Moreover,  not a single clergyman of the Shirak Diocese agreed to conduct the  liturgy for the Armenian Prime Minister, as one of the conditions was  to omit the name of the Catholicos of All Armenians and the head of  the diocese during the service. Consequently, the Armenian  authorities were forced to bring their own puppet bishops, who  opposed the Catholicos. Furthermore, officers of the National  Security Service of Armenia sealed the church doors that evening,  preventing anyone from entering. Thus, for the first time in 200  years, the bells of the "Seven Wounds" Church did not ring on the  morning of December 7, inviting the faithful to the liturgy. It is  also noteworthy that, despite the Armenian authorities' attempts to  suppress the name of the Catholicos during the liturgy, the singers  of the church choir nevertheless sang the names of both Karekin II  and the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church,  Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhian, who was imprisoned on trumped-up  charges.

On December 7, the Mother See of Etchmiadzin also announced the  indefinite postponement of the bishops' meeting scheduled for  December 10-12 due to increasing pressure on the clergy.

As a reminder, the Armenian Prime Minister launched a campaign  against the Armenian Apostolic Church in May, seeking the resignation  of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II. As part of this campaign,  all dissenters, both clergy and ordinary citizens, are being  imprisoned on various serious charges.