Meeting of Bishops to be held in Austria in the absence of the Catholicos of All Armenians
The Bishops’ Council scheduled to take place in Austria will proceed, but it will have a different status. This was announced by Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, Director of the External Relations and Protocol Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, during a briefing with journalists in the courtyard of the Mother See.
According to him, the bishops will gather in Austria; however, due to the absence of Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the meeting will take the format of a “gathering of bishops,” where issues concerning the church and the current situation will be discussed. He emphasized that no one can prohibit the gathering of bishops.
Referring to the statement by RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, claiming that the clergy are attempting to take the treasures of Etchmiadzin out of the country, the Archbishop noted that such an assertion implies that Armenia is unable to control its borders.
He also stressed that the Mother See has been located in Armenia since 1441 and, according to him, will continue to remain in Armenia, and the Catholicos and the clergy will not leave the country.
It should be noted that a meeting of bishops is scheduled for February 16–19 in the city of Sankt Pölten, Austria.
On January 29, the Investigative Committee (IC) announced that it had initiated criminal proceedings against the Armenian Apostolic Church in connection with the “case” of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan (Arman Saroyan), the former primate of the Diocese of Masyatsotn who has been defrocked (failure to comply with a judicial act). A ban on leaving the country was chosen as a restrictive measure for a group of clergymen.
On February 14, it became known that the RA Prosecutor’s Office had initiated criminal prosecution against Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, on the same charge and prohibited
