Bishop Arshak on Reports of the Catholicos Having a Child

There are wrong answers, but there are more wrong questions, and wrong questions cannot have answers. This was stated today, June 3, during a press briefing by Bishop Arshak Khachatryan, the head of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, in response to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement about whether Garegin II has violated his vow of celibacy and has a child. If he does have a child, he cannot be the Catholicos of All Armenians.

“Wrong questions should not be raised, especially by those in positions of responsibility,” he said.

When asked if the authorities might attempt to depose the Supreme Patriarch and replace him, Bishop Arshak replied, “Does the legislation grant them such an opportunity or authority? Efforts should be made to uphold the legislation. When there are actions to take, we will announce it when we find it appropriate.”

In response to the question of how far Pashinyan must go for the Church to respond more radically to the campaign against it, he noted, “You know, we are never guided by the nature of the response in providing answers. The answer could be radical or soft... The key here is the effectiveness of the response or actions. One action may be deemed radical by you, while another may not.”

As for whether there are celibate priests who have violated their vows, he stated, “I do not consider that a proper question. There is a suspicion that married individuals may not be faithful to their marriage vows. There is a general suspicion. Now, I do not know if any of you are married or not, but how appropriate is it for me to pose the same type of question to any of you? That is not a correct inquiry.”

Journalists were also interested in whether the Mother See would appeal to law enforcement for a legal assessment of slander, to which the Reverend replied, “I cannot say. If deemed necessary, it is not excluded. We will understand the pertinent approaches according to the situation.”

It should be noted that yesterday and today, Nikol Pashinyan made another statement, writing that if it is confirmed that Catholicos Garegin II has indeed violated his celibacy vows and has a child, then he cannot be the Catholicos of All Armenians.

Let us recall that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, had made a post on Facebook stating, “The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin must clarify whether Garegin II has violated his celibacy vow and has a child. This question must be clarified urgently.”