YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — The Armenian Apostolic Church is undaunted by the arrests of two more of its priests, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II said on Sunday, October 19, after a law-enforcement agency opened a new criminal case which could land him in jail.
Karekin struck a defiant note as he addressed hundreds of members and supporters of a new opposition movement who gathered at his Echmiadzin headquarters in a show of support for the supreme head of the church. They prayed with him at the historic Echmiadzin cathedral before holding a candlelight vigil around it.
“Despite the reprehensible anti-church actions of the authorities, our Holy Church remains unshaken and strong — sustained by the faith and devotion of her people,” Karekin said after the prayer service. “With the same zeal, it continues to fulfill its God-given mission, striving to safeguard the interests of our nation and Homeland.
“We call upon all our faithful children to stand firm, not to lose heart in the face of hardships and trials, but to move forward with apostolic courage, ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’”
Like other Armenian opposition groups, the In Our Way movement led by jailed billionaire Samvel Karapetyan has strongly condemned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s continuing efforts to depose Karekin. The opposition says that the October 15 arrest and prosecution of two clerics is part of that campaign.
Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, the primate of the church diocese in Armenia’s central Aragatsotn province, and a parish priest were among at least local 13 clergymen rounded up by law-enforcement authorities that day. The Investigative Committee claims that Proshyan, who is a nephew of Karekin, forced his subordinates to attend opposition rallies held in the run-up to 2021 parliamentary elections and interfered with their “electoral rights.” He denies the accusations.
