Church Cannot Be Silenced by Reprisals, Says Mother See's Chancellor

ArmDaily.am's interview with the Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Bishop Arshak Khachatryan.

- Your Holiness, there has been information circulating on social media about a protest against the Catholicos taking place in Etchmiadzin on Sunday. Are you aware of this, and what do you have to say about it?

- The Church operates for all those who come to pray and seek forgiveness. Those who deviate from this fundamental spiritual principle will voluntarily distance themselves from the Church, and for such individuals, the Church has other means of spiritual care and education.

- Very well, but what do you say about the fact that this campaign is sometimes encouraged by certain state officials? Are the authorities trying to take revenge on the Church in connection with the demand for the Prime Minister's resignation?

- I want to clearly state that the Church has absolutely not demonstrated an anti-government stance for its own sake. The demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister directed by His Holiness the Catholicos and senior clergymen is solely dictated by national and state interests. Secondly, I am convinced that reprisal actions and punitive measures cannot silence the Church. The Church has a rich historical experience in resisting persecution. Furthermore, the history of the Church is sometimes characterized as a history of martyrdom. I am confident that both the clergy and our lay believers are ready to resist any anti-Church actions and encroachments.