Pan-Armenian Council for Preservation of AAC condemns Armenian  premier`s campaign against AAC

ArmInfo. The Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church issued a new statement condemning Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC).

As emphasized in the statement distributed by the Council, the  campaign launched by the Armenian Prime Minister is moving from  internal to external pressure, manifesting itself in attempts to  influence the Diaspora and the diplomatic system. In this regard, the  Council drew attention to the fact that the dismissal of the Honorary  Consul of Armenia in Yekaterinburg Narek Spartakyan was essentially  not related to a violation of diplomatic service, but to a moral  position expressed in defense of the Armenian Church.

"The Council considers it unacceptable when a state structure  punishes its own representative in another country simply for  defending the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church and spiritual  leadership. In the case of the Honorary Consul, the right to freely  express opinions without being deprived of office or publicly  discredited is not ensured. This suggests that what is happening is  nothing more than political revenge and the use of pressure based on  convictions. This happens when the state power identifies a moral  position with infidelity. When the defense of Christian values  becomes the cause of administrative consequences, and silence - a  unit of loyalty," the Pan-Armenian Council emphasized in its  statement. In this regard, the Council called for a public and  transparent explanation of the reasons for the resignation of  Honorary Consul Narek Spartakyan. The Council emphasized that the  presence of political motives is subject to investigation both at the  domestic and international levels.

The Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church  also responded to the Prime Minister's initiative to organize a rally  in the center of Vagharshapat. The Council expressed concern that  this issue remains on the agenda against the backdrop of a number of  legal, moral and security issues. "This rally cannot be considered an  impartial or "peace ceremony", given that it was preceded by  destructive rhetoric, pressure and unfounded accusations against the  AAC and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II," the statement  emphasizes.

In connection with the above, the Pan-Armenian Council for the  Preservation of the Armenian Church confirmed the steadfastness of  the spiritual unity formed around the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.  "Our clergy and communities in the Diaspora support Holy Etchmiadzin  as the spiritual center of all Armenians.  The protection of the AAC  is not limited to the powers of protecting official borders, but is a  responsible choice of every Armenian who remains faithful to the  truth and religious values," the Council summarized.

Recall that earlier the URA.RU website reported that the Honorary  Consul of Armenia Narek Spartakyan was being recalled from  Yekaterinburg. According to the source, the reason was his  disagreement with the position of the country's leadership regarding  the Armenian Apostolic Church and the arrest of the philanthropist  from Russia Samvel Karapetyan, who supported the AAC.

We will add that the Armenian Prime Minister, as part of his  anti-church campaign launched at the end of May this year, declared  his readiness to lead the process of removing all Armenians from the  throne of the Catholicos. On July 7, information began to circulate  in the Armenian media that in the near future the security forces  would launch another attack on the Armenian Apostolic Church.