We Are Not Divided, They Are Divided: Archbishop Ajapahyan

We are not divided, they are divided; do not attribute the division to us. The case of Estonia demonstrated that the church, in any case, maintains a certain degree of loyalty to the ruling power. This was stated by the Primate of the Shirak Diocese, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, in an interview with NEWS.am, referring to the Church's ongoing demand for the Prime Minister's resignation.

“It is the authorities that are not maintaining loyalty. It is the authorities that do not even maintain the loyalty that should be upheld regarding procedural matters. Yes, they say that this government is unacceptable to them, but it is still a government. However, they say, 'Until you bow down to us, until you tell us we are good, we won't communicate with you.' We have seen this before. Since 1975, when I entered the ecclesiastical sphere until 1990, I fully enjoyed the hostile tolerance of the Soviet regime towards the church,” he stated.

When asked if anything has changed in Gyumri under the new government, Archpriest Mikael replied, “It is still too early for anything to change, what should change? Let them work for now, and we will see. This city is neither excited about everything nor desperately hopeless. This city has seen so many good and bad things. This people has hardened so much through good and bad winds, heat, and cold that nothing trivial can move, excite, or freeze them. The Gyumri people are a very unique type in Armenia. Very often, even the residents of Gyumri do not know about this; they simply live their lives. They carry joy and sorrow with remarkable stoicism,” Ajapahyan added.