Catholicos Aram I: ‘Put an End to Destructive Atmosphere Created in Armenia. It is Shameful’
Catholicos Aram I
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in a statement, demanded an end to what he called “the destructive atmosphere created in Armenia,” calling the situation “Shameful.”
“The current unhealthy and anti-national atmosphere create in our beloved homeland is a disgrace thousands times over,” Aram I said. “Unfortunately, there aren’t enough words in the Armenian language to describe my anger.”
“The atmosphere that has recently emerged within the two nation and state building structures—Holy Etchmiadzin and the National Assembly—is a disgrace and must be condemned,” Aram I added in the statement posted on the Cilician Catholicosate’s website on Wednesday.
“Indeed, there may be mistakes, omissions, divisions and confrontations in the daily realities of the Church and Nation. However, they need to be discussed through specific processes and in a calm atmosphere, so that appropriate solutions may be achieved,” the Cilician Catholicos said, presumably expressing his frustration over yet another brawl that took place in parliament on Tuesday between opposition and pro-government lawmakers.
He also added that while he has not visited Armenia for about six years, he has though “a lot” about going to Armenia to help “calm the storm that has been created. However, he said, he decided against it because of the “unfounded and continuous statements” made in parliament that “distort our moral, spiritual, and national values, as well as the arrests that continue to take place.”
“However, I remain committed to going to the Homeland at any time and meeting with Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, and other responsible officials, so that we can seek viable solutions to get Armenia out of the difficult situation it has created,” Aram I concluded.
Last week, Aram I condemned a raid by Armenia’s National Security Service officers on the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, as law enforcement officers were attempting to arrest the Primate of the Shirak Diocese, Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahyan, who later turned himself in. He, along with Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and 15 others, have been charged with allegedly planning the overthrow of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government.
Their arrests are part of sweeping crackdown of the opposition and those critical of the government ordered by Pashinyan, who for a month has launched a crusade against the Church, Catholicos Karekin II and other high-ranking clergy. Using derogatory language in his posts on social media, Pashinyan has decried what he believes is corruption at the Church.
Etchmiadzin and Karekin II have condemned the prime minister’s campaign, accusing Pashinyan of sowing discord domestically.
