Mother See rejects claims church lacks statutes

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has issued a statement firmly rejecting allegations circulating in the media and among certain individuals that the Armenian Apostolic Church lacks an official statute.

“These unfounded claims bear no relation to truth or reality,” the statement reads.

The Church emphasized that it has long operated under canons established by ecclesiastical councils and patriarchal decrees. The process of drafting a formal statute began under Catholicos Vazgen I and continued through the tenure of Catholicos Karekin I, gaining significant momentum under the current Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II.

During the Ecclesiastical-Representative Assemblies held in 2009 and 2014 at the Mother See, the Church approved statutes governing the National Ecclesiastical Assembly (AEA), the Ecclesiastical-Representative Assembly, the Supreme Spiritual Council, as well as frameworks for diocesan and parish statutes.

“These approved and functioning statutes are in active use within the Church, pending final ratification by the AEA,” the statement affirms.

The Church added that committees established by the Catholicos are continuing work on finalizing the Church’s comprehensive statute, which is expected to be a landmark development in its institutional life.

However, the statement also notes with concern that the work of these committees has been disrupted, as their chairpersons are currently “illegally imprisoned.”

On the issue of convening the AEA, the Mother See clarified that it was the initiative of the Catholicos to hold this assembly every seven years. Its recent postponement was due to the pandemic and the war in Artsakh. The Church hopes to convene the assembly soon to address the challenges and concerns at hand.

The statement comes amid growing internal dissent, with a group of high-ranking clergy — including bishops and archbishops — accusing Catholicos Karekin II of covering up misconduct by Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan and of failing his oath. On November 29, they issued a call for the Catholicos to step down, a stance publicly supported by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after meeting with these clerics.