Armenia's Pashinyan demands resignation of Catholicos Garegin II, seeks church renewal

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan continues to raise issues concerning the election of a new Catholicos of All Armenians.

Pashinyan once again demanded the resignation of Catholicos Garegin II in a post on Facebook, Caliber.Az reports.

"Dear faithful followers of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church,

As one of you, I appeal to you: we must take active steps to liberate the Patriarchate of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and to organise new elections for the Catholicosate.

At this stage, we need to establish a Coordination Group to manage the organisational matters related to this agenda. Members of the Coordination Group may be those followers of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church who:

a) wholeheartedly believe in our living Lord Jesus Christ;

b) have read the Bible from beginning to end at least once;

c) have observed the Great Lent at least once in the past five years;

d) pray every day;

e) believe that the renewal of the Mother See’s agenda stems from the interests of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, our people, our state, and is in line with the sacred tradition of our ancestors."

"Members of the Coordination Group may be men, women, laypeople, or clergy. In the case of celibate clergy, it is essential that they have not violated their vow of celibacy.

I will personally take responsibility for selecting the first 10 members of the Coordination Group, based on discussions and assessment of the abovementioned criteria.

Subsequently, the Group itself will decide on the procedures for expansion, its internal structure, and any other relevant matters.

I understand that most of the above criteria for membership in the Coordination Group cannot be objectively verified, but with God’s help, they can be clarified through interaction and conversation—visible through the eyes of the soul.

If you meet the above criteria, please send your name, surname, and phone number to nikolpashinyan@gmail.com for consideration to join the Coordination Group, and write in the subject line: Coordination Group.

Please also briefly mention your profession and/or field of activity.

The formation of the Coordination Group will proceed in a working format until the Group itself decides to make a public statement.

During our work, many words of temptation will be spoken, and we will be accused of all kinds of sins. Look at all of this through the eyes of your soul, listen to the voice of our living Lord Jesus Christ, and be guided by it," wrote the Armenian prime minister.

By Khagan Isayev