Bishops joined with Pashinyan will not participate in the assembly of Bishops to be convened abroad
A group of bishops who have joined RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and are demanding the resignation of the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, have announced that they will not participate in the Assembly of Bishops to be convened abroad. Simultaneously, they called for the cancellation of the assembly, characterizing it as a “decision sowing discord” and “adventurism.”
The Coordinating Council for the “Reformation” of the Armenian Apostolic Church also issued a statement, requesting other bishops to join their position and cancel the holding of the Assembly of Bishops abroad. Earlier, it was reported that the assembly is scheduled to take place from February 16-19 in the city of Sankt Pölten, Austria.
The bishops claim that the current Supreme Spiritual Council is invalid because it was elected in 2017 and its term of office expired in 2021. Furthermore, according to them, subsequent changes in members were made at the discretion of the Catholicos; therefore, the council’s decisions are not canonical.
They note that the residence of the Catholicos of All Armenians is the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and no justification has been provided for not convening the Assembly of Bishops there. According to them, moving the assembly to a foreign country discredits the Mother See and Armenian statehood.
It should be recalled that on January 4, 2026, Pashinyan and 10 bishops announced the start of the “reformation” of the Armenian Apostolic Church and established a coordinating council to handle management and reform issues.