Armenian Apostolic Holy Church Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin firmly condemns the arrest on December 4 of the Chancellor of the Mother See, His Eminence Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, on fabricated and baseless charges, as well as the pre-trial detention imposed on him by the court.

This action is a manifestation of the repressions recently unleashed against the Church and a continuation of the politically motivated persecution of the clergy. The detention of high-ranking clergymen on manufactured accusations is yet another expression of the authorities’ anti-church policy and of the fomenting of hostility against the clergy.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin demands the immediate cessation of the unlawful persecution of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan and of the other imprisoned clergy, and the restoration of their violated rights.