The bishops serving in the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and the ruling bishops of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Armenia issued a statement accusing the country's authorities of wanting to destroy the Armenian Church.
On Wednesday, the Armenian Apostolic Church announced the detention of 13 clergymen by Armenian security forces, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan. The AAC called it the repression inherent in totalitarian regimes, a gross violation of the right to freedom of religion. Kim Avdalyan, a spokeswoman for the country's Investigative Committee, told RIA Novosti that the case against clergy in Armenia concerns involvement in rallies. On Thursday, a court in Yerevan arrested Bishop Proshyan and Garegin Arsenyan, spiritual pastor of St. George's Church in Mugni. The investigation also demands the arrest of the accountant of the Aragatsotn diocese. The bishop became the third high-ranking clergyman to be arrested after Archbishops Bagrat Galstanyan and Mikael Ajapakhyan.
In the statement, the actions of the authorities against the head of the Aragatsotn diocese, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, and the clergy are called illegal, and their arrest is shameful.
"It is obvious that the ruling political force continues to adhere to the malicious plan for the collapse of the Armenian Church, targeting clergymen and abusing the levers of power to carry out repressions and defamatory actions against spiritual ministers and supporters of the church," the statement said.
The hierarchs of the Armenian Apostolic Church noted that these illegal anti-church actions violated and ignored the spiritual feelings of the believing people, in particular, churches were closed and pre-planned ceremonial ceremonies were canceled.
"All responsibility for this deplorable situation is borne by the current government and personally by the Prime Minister of the country, who has been spreading hate speech and intolerance against the Church and clergy for a long time, making clear encroachments on the age-old foundations of the church. Accordingly, the political nature of these clearly illegal criminal trials becomes apparent when they directly follow the Prime Minister's statements targeting the Armenian Apostolic Church," the statement said.
The bishops and hierarchs called on the judicial and law enforcement agencies of Armenia to act exclusively within the framework of the law and not to indulge the arbitrariness and group interests of statesmen who abuse their official powers.
"State levers should serve exclusively the most important goals of national security, social solidarity and well-being, and not become a tool of violence, generating internal hostility and division. We urge our spiritual servants and our believing people not to retreat, to stand firm in faith and prayer, not to be afraid of dangers and threats, and to make every effort against the lawlessness and injustice taking place in the country," the statement says.
According to the materials of RIA Novosti