Director of the External Relations and Protcol Department of the Mother See, Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan, speaking after Sunday liturgy and referring to the travel ban imposed on Catholicos Karekin II, stated that the Bishops’ Assembly in Austria will take place, but with a different status, Factor.am reports.

“The bishops will gather in Austria. Naturally, in the absence of the Catholicos of All Armenians, the status of the Bishops’ Assembly changes slightly. It becomes a gathering of bishops, where our bishops will still meet and discuss various issues concerning our Church, especially the current situation. No one can prevent our bishops from assembling anywhere, not only for a gathering but also for holding a Bishops’ Assembly under the leadership of the Catholicos of All Armenians.

Those fabricated and delusional claims that a Bishops’ Assembly cannot be held outside Armenia are merely words thrown into the air. I am surprised that each time, for some reason, a group of incompetents tries to portray our people as naïve and foolish. But our people understand all this very well,” he said.

Addressing the prime minister’s statements, he noted that since the Mother See returned to Armenia, it has been here for 700 years and will remain here forever.

“The treasures of Etchmiadzin have always been with us. If we are able to take the treasures of Etchmiadzin out of Armenia, then there is no state in Armenia. It would mean it cannot control either its borders or its customs services,” he said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the purpose of convening the Armenian Church’s Bishops’ Assembly in Austria is to move the Catholicosate of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the treasures of Etchmiadzin out of Armenia.

Referring to historical realities, Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisyan emphasized: “You know very well from history that since 1441, when the Mother See returned to Armenia, it has been in Armenia for 700 years, and it will remain in Armenia forever, even if, due to some, the Republic of Armenia ceases to exist. The Mother See, Armenian clergy, and especially the Catholicos of All Armenians will never leave Armenia.”

The decision to ban Catholicos Karekin II from leaving Armenia is linked to a criminal case initiated against him, within which a travel ban has been applied as a preventive measure.

“In the course of the preliminary investigation of the criminal proceedings initiated over failure to execute a judicial act or obstruction of its execution, public criminal prosecution has also been initiated against one more individual under Part 2 of Article 507 of the Criminal Code (obstruction of the execution of a judicial act). A travel ban has been imposed on the latter as a preventive measure,” the Investigative Committee said.

On January 31, 2026, the Investigative Committee issued another statement in the above-mentioned case, again noting that criminal prosecution has been initiated against seven clergymen of the Armenian Apostolic Church within the framework of proceedings over failure to execute a judicial act, six of whom are bishops.