CSI urges Armenia to halt actions against Church

PanARMENIAN.Net - Christian Solidarity International (CSI) and several organizations dedicated to defending religious freedom have called on the Armenian government to cease actions directed against the Armenian Apostolic Church.

In a joint statement, the organizations and individuals expressed “deep concern about the escalating campaign by the Armenian government against the Armenian Apostolic Church and its supporters.” Among the signatories are Coptic Solidarity and SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, according to Panorama.am .

“In recent weeks, as documented by facts, we have witnessed arbitrary arrests of senior clergy and prominent supporters of the Church, confiscation of their property, and police interventions at sacred sites, including the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin,” the statement says.

Those detained include Archbishops Mikael Ajapahyan and Bagrat Galstanyan, as well as businessman Samvel Karapetyan.

The same statement claims that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has urged the Catholicos to resign and be replaced by a new Catholicos appointed through a commission formed by the government. Such a move, the statement notes, contradicts Article 17 of the Constitution, which enshrines the separation of church and state.

The statement also includes several demands:

• Immediate and unconditional release of Samvel Karapetyan, whose arrest allegedly lacks legal basis.
• Release of Archbishops Mikael Ajapahyan and Bagrat Galstanyan, and provision of an independent and transparent investigation into the charges against them.
• End all interference in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including efforts to discredit clergy and replace Church leadership through state mechanisms.
• Cease all forms of economic pressure, including politically motivated confiscation of property, administrative persecution, and censorship of peaceful public advocacy.
• Restore judicial independence to ensure Armenian courts no longer serve as tools for political persecution or executive control.

“Expressions of conscience, faith, and legitimate dissent should not be punishable in any country that claims to uphold democratic values,” the statement concludes.

Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is an international human rights organization advocating for religious freedom and human dignity.