Nikol Pashinyan Makes New Statement

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, made a post on his Facebook page, stating, "The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is the epicenter of our national morality. When that epicenter is under the leadership of individuals who have broken their vows before God, corrupted, and who bear immoral character and lifestyle unacceptable to even secular individuals, it means that our morality is put into question.

I am a devoted follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church, who cherishes every stone of our church, hears the echoes and messages of our holy liturgies with a beating heart, kneels before God every day for 35 years and prays, sometimes engages in fasting and abstinence, and I say we cannot allow the decay of our national morality epicenter to continue.

This is a time of resurrection, where every faithful citizen of the Republic of Armenia, every pious cleric must separate from the debauchery and treacherous behavior of certain high-ranking clergy and reaffirm the moral imperative established in the Canon Law of the Armenian Apostolic Church at the Mother See. There is no alternative. I urge Ktrich Nersisyan to leave the Cathedral immediately. I call upon all faithful followers of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and all clerics loyal to its values to clearly articulate their demand directed at Ktrich Nersisyan to vacate the Cathedral and to voice it publicly. The Cathedral is sacred," Pashinyan wrote.