Representatives of the Five Human Rights Defenders initiative, which unites well-known Armenian lawyers, presented their proposals to Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II on the protection of the rights of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), the AAC press office reports.
It is noted that during the meeting on Monday, issues related to the recent illegal campaign launched by the Armenian authorities against the Armenian Apostolic Church and clergy were raised.
"The members of the initiative presented to His Holiness the Patriarch their thoughts and suggestions on ensuring the protection of the rights of the church within the framework of the law," the message says. It is noted that the Catholicos of All Armenians expressed gratitude to human rights defenders for their efforts to protect the church and clergy.
Relations between the Armenian authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Church sharply deteriorated after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan posted offensive posts against the Armenian Apostolic Church on a social network in late May, including using profanity. Later, he proposed to change the procedure for electing the Catholicos of All Armenians and to assign a decisive role to the state in this process.
Businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, who stood up for the church, was arrested, which caused outrage among numerous representatives of the diaspora around the world, who told RIA Novosti that political persecution of the church and its supporters was unacceptable. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who heads the "Holy Struggle" movement, was also arrested. He was the leader of the demonstrators who demanded the resignation of the prime minister in 2024. At the end of June, the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, was arrested in Yerevan. A case was opened against him and he was accused of calling for the seizure of power. The hierarch himself called these accusations fabricated. Before Ajapakhyan's arrest, Armenian National Security Service officers arrived at the residence of the Catholicos of All Armenians in Etchmiadzin to detain the archbishop, but were rebuffed by believers and priests.
According to the materials of RIA Novosti