Aram I urges unity amid threats to nation, church

Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia has issued a statement calling on Armenians to “reject all attempts at division, visible or invisible.”

“Be alert, Armenian people… Serious efforts are underway to divide our nation, Homeland, Church, organizations, communities, and Diaspora-Armenia cooperation. These efforts are clearly visible both in Armenia and the Diaspora. Let us stay vigilant. Let us hold on to our values, sacred traditions, and roots, rejecting ideologies, mindsets, and actions that go against our moral, spiritual, and national values that form the essence of our identity,” the statement reads.

“We have one Church, one Homeland, and one nation. In the face of visible or invisible attempts to divide, we must collectively say: No. This is the message of our history, our heroes, and our saints, now and forever,” Aram I concluded.

On October 26, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended a liturgy at Hovhannavank Monastery, led by a defrocked priest whom the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin had declared illegitimate. He was accompanied by his key cabinet members, including the defense and economy ministers, while the health minister stood behind them.

A few days earlier, the Mother See had declared Father Aram defrocked and barred him from performing any spiritual rites. It labeled the Sunday liturgy a “spiritually destructive initiative,” accusing Prime Minister Pashinyan of trying to create division within the Church. Pashinyan has stated he plans to attend another liturgy at Hovhannavank on November 2.