Church-government confrontation continues: The Order of Doctors of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin issues a statement
The Order of Doctors of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has issued a statement addressing the faithful and the clergy, urging them not to be tempted, not to alienate themselves from the spiritual life of the Mother Church, and not to be saddened by the slander and persecution directed at the clergy.
The statement notes that interference and threats from secular authorities in the internal governance of the Church are considered unacceptable. The archimandrites of the brotherhood also addressed attempts to target high-ranking clergymen and priests, which, according to them, could serve the agenda of dethroning the Catholicos of All Armenians.
The archimandrites reaffirmed that the Armenian Pontiff, elected by the National-Ecclesiastical Assembly and possessing valid anointing, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, has all the graces bestowed by the Holy Spirit, which are distributed to spiritual servants “through the mystery of ordination or patriarchal endowment.”
The statement notes that doctrinal, canonical-ritual, and disciplinary issues arising within the Church are resolved only according to the rules of the Armenian Church and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, without external interference or political influence.
The Order of Doctors calls on the faithful to participate in the prayer and sacramental life of the Church, maintaining unity and loyalty to the Armenian Church. It should be noted that as a result of the church-government clash, Bagrat Archbishop Galstanyan, leader of the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement, Mikael Archbishop Ajapahyan, Primate of the Shirak Diocese, Mkrtich the Reverend, Primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, and Garegin Arsenyan, Chancellor of the Aragatsotn Diocese, have already been arrested. In addition, Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan has now become a new “target,” and the scandalous video circulated about him continues to be at the center of discussions.