At the Crossroads: Armenians Must Stand with Etchmiadzin
By Suren Hazarian
We stand today at a crossroads as a nation and as a people.
As Armenians around the world mark the 30th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, we honor his steadfast leadership and decades of service to our people. Yet even as we give thanks, our hearts are pulled toward Etchmiadzin, where a travesty is unfolding before our eyes.
Under the watch of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s regime, the Armenian nation has already endured the unthinkable loss of Artsakh, as our cries for help fell on deaf ears. Now, the same government that failed to defend our people has turned inward, seeking to pressure, silence, and undermine the Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II, and the leadership of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
We must see this moment for what it is. This is not simply politics as usual or a disagreement to be brushed aside. This is a direct assault on the independence of our Church, the same Church that has been the spiritual heart of the Armenian nation for centuries, preserving our faith, our identity, and our unity through genocide, war, and exile.
This is a test of who we are as Armenians, as the first Christian nation in the world. It is a true crossroads, demanding that we choose—actively and without hesitation—between faith and fear, between unity and division, between silence and action.
We cannot, and must not, remain silent as our Church is brought to its knees by the same regime that stood by as we lost Artsakh. Silence now would be complicity in the erosion of the very soul of our nation.
Now is the time for every Armenian, from Yerevan to Los Angeles, from Beirut to Paris, to raise their voices and stand by Etchmiadzin. We must defend the independence of our Church and the moral compass it provides to our people, refusing to allow it to become a pawn in the games of political power.
As we celebrate the 30 years of faithful service of Catholicos Aram I, let us remember that leadership rooted in faith is leadership that endures, even under siege. Let us also remember that we, the Armenian people, are called to be protectors of our faith, our Church, and our nation.
The crossroads is before us.
Let us choose to stand firm, to speak clearly, and to act boldly, so that future generations will know that in this critical moment, we did not surrender the faith that has sustained us for millennia.
May God protect our Church, strengthen our people, and guide us toward a future worthy of our ancestors’ sacrifices.
