Information Preparation for the Arrest of the Supreme Patriarch Has Begun, Says Ruben Melikyan

The occupying regime has begun the information preparation for a significant act against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church—the arrest of the Supreme Patriarch. This was announced by human rights defender Ruben Melikyan on his Facebook page.

“On one of their affiliated websites, they published an alleged recording of a telephone conversation from 2023 between one of the bishops and a certain abbot, in which this abbot accuses the Supreme Patriarch of participating in a meeting to ‘advise’ on something,” Melikyan stated.

“The next steps are already clear. The question is when: today, later, on Monday, or in a few days? Considering all this, I want to share some theses:

1. The captured Patriarch remains the Patriarch. In our long history, there have been many instances when our Supreme Patriarchs were captured by the enemy. This will also be among those cases.
2. The Patriarch is fully empowered to appoint a deputy during his absence to ensure the normal functioning of the Church.
3. If we are called to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, we must be prepared.