Evening Service at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
18.12.2025
On December 18, before the meeting of the Supreme Spiritual Council, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, together with the members of the SSC, the diocesan prelates invited to the assembly, and the monastic community of the Mother See, participated in the Evening Service at the Cathedral of the Descent of the Only-Begotten.
At the conclusion of the service, His Holiness addressed the pilgrims who had come to the Mother See, offering a fatherly message and words of encouragement in support of the Armenian Church.
Message of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, to the Pilgrims
Beloved Children of Ours,
With fatherly love and blessing, we extend a warm welcome to each of you at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Today, you have gathered in the spiritual center of the Armenian people, bearing witness to your devotion to our Holy Apostolic Church. Holy Etchmiadzin is the home of each of you, the sacred spiritual abode of every Armenian. As the historian Arakel of Tabriz testifies, Armenians worldwide remain united through the Right Hand of the Enlightener and Holy Etchmiadzin.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin stands as a symbol of our people’s eternal covenant with God. God-Founded Holy Etchmiadzin embodies the unshakable sanctity of Armenian unity worldwide, safeguards our identity and heritage, and radiates the steadfast light of our faith. Regrettably, throughout history, there have been forces that sought to cast doubt upon the mission of the Church and to exploit the Church and Holy Etchmiadzin for their own narrow interests.
This unacceptable reality has sown divisions within national life, fragmented our people, and weakened our State, placing it in mortal peril, as the Lord declares: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matt. 12:25).
Even today, we are living through anxious times. Our country faces serious security challenges and pressing issues that require urgent attention. In these circumstances, instead of fostering the spirit of concord, tolerance, and unity within society and restoring the disrupted relations between the Church and the State, attacks upon our Holy Church persist. Another attempt to encroach upon Holy Etchmiadzin took place today, unfortunately, with the involvement of some members of the clergy. Yet the faithful children of our people remain steadfast and fearless. This noise will never hinder the fulfillment of our sacred mission, nor the realization of our programs dedicated to the construction and prosperity of our homeland.
We offer our fatherly gratitude to you, dear ones, and to all the children of the Armenian nation and national organizations who, over the years, and especially during these days of anti-Church campaigns, continue to support the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the nation-serving mission of our Holy Church. We also extend our appreciation to the monastic community of the Mother See, the clergy serving in the dioceses, and our beloved deacons, who firmly and decisively defend the canonical rights of our Holy Church.
We all desire that our lives be free from lawlessness and injustice, the bitter consequences of which are currently borne by our clergy, unlawfully deprived of their freedom, by a nationally renowned benefactor, and by devoted sons of the Armenian people. We pray that goodness and mercy, fraternal love, and unity may prevail. We are one nation, one homeland, one Church, and we must not succumb to provocations that seek to divide us.
Let us unite around our homeland and our Holy Church. Let us preserve our unity, through which alone our State and Church, with Christ-Founded Holy Etchmiadzin at its center, can be strong. Issues within the spiritual sphere are resolved through canonical ecclesiastical procedures, not by pressure from individual groups or uncanonical actions. We urge our venerable clergy who have gone astray to return to the canonical path and act exclusively in accordance with the sacred order of our Holy Church, for the sake of our people and our homeland.
Dear God-loving people, our fatherly exhortation is this: in the present sensitive circumstances, exercise prudence, be discerning, and yield to no provocations. As the Apostle instructs: “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love” (1 Cor. 16:13, 14).
Together, let us pray that the peace of the Lord be established in the world, and that our homeland and our people across the globe remain safe and secure, always guided by the God-given hope, faith, and love flowing from Holy Etchmiadzin.
May the grace, love, and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us and with all, today, always, and forevermore. Amen.
