Bishops of the Mother See and Diocesan Primates of Armenia Issue Statement
16.10.2025
On October 16, under the chairmanship of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, a meeting was held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin with bishops serving in the structures of the Mother See and the diocesan leaders of Armenia.
Special attention was given to the reprehensible actions undertaken on October 15 by the law enforcement bodies of the Republic of Armenia in the Aragatsotn Diocese. In this regard, the bishops issued the following statement:
STATEMENT
We received with deep indignation the news that on October 15, in the Aragatsotn Diocese, representatives of law enforcement agencies carried out unlawful actions against the Diocesan Primate, clergy, and lay employees. These actions were accompanied by completely unfounded and unjustified searches, deceptive detentions, concealment of the detainees’ whereabouts, and deprivation of their right to legal assistance.
It has now become known that, in the same shameful manner, a measure of detention has been applied to His Grace Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, head of the Aragatsotn Diocese, and Priest Garegin Arsenyan, while a petition for the arrest of the diocese’s chief accountant has also been submitted.
The ruling political force clearly continues to pursue a malicious and deliberate agenda aimed at undermining and dismantling the Armenian Church, targeting the clergy, and abusing state mechanisms to exert pressure and carry out defamation campaigns against the servants and supporters of the Church.
Through these anti-church and unlawful actions, the spiritual feelings of the faithful have been openly trampled upon and disrespected: churches have been closed, planned liturgical services canceled, and funeral rites conducted without the participation of clergy.
Full responsibility for this deeply distressing situation lies with the current authorities and personally with the Prime Minister, who, for a long time, has been spreading rhetoric of hatred and intolerance toward the Church and its clergy, openly violating the sacred foundations of church life and the centuries-old traditions of our people.
It is clear that these blatantly unlawful criminal proceedings are of an overtly political nature, especially as they followed immediately after the Prime Minister’s hostile statements against the Armenian Church.
We urgently appeal to the judicial and law enforcement bodies of the Republic of Armenia to act strictly within the framework of the law, not to succumb to arbitrariness or the group interests of state officials who abuse their power.
The instruments of state authority must serve exclusively the purposes of national security, public harmony, and the common good. They must not become tools of retribution or sources of internal division and hostility.
We call upon our clergy and all the faithful not to retreat, but to remain steadfast in faith and prayer, to fear neither dangers nor threats, and to exert every effort to resist the injustice and lawlessness taking place in our country.
May the Lord grant strength and courage to our brothers and faithful servants deprived of their freedom, and may He preserve our country and the Holy Apostolic Church unshaken—now and forever. Amen.
