Archbishop Yeghishe Nersisyan Issues Statement

Today, under the pressures of state apparatus in Armenia, arrests are being made based on fabricated charges and absurd justifications. People are being taken hostage and hostile retribution is being carried out, attempting to intimidate and suppress individuals by limiting their freedom and silencing their just voices. The blatant actions of the government do not conform to any constitutional, legislative, international, or even universal moral framework, reminiscent of the years of impiety when fake accusations led to sham trials and the distortion of human destinies.

Those who have found themselves in today’s prison cells, including my dear brother Gevorg Nersisyan and his son, are sons of the nation who defend their faith, dignity, and homeland. Political oppression against them is conducted with vindictiveness and gross violations of the law, under the pretense of supporting the state.

This was stated by Archbishop Yeghishe Nersisyan, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhichevan.

“Although we read in the Holy Scripture that there is no man on earth who lives and does not sin, except for our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord also says, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone.’ Today, the government, having lost its moral weight, has become a dangerous group that ‘fears neither God nor is ashamed of men, tramples on the law with a ruthless attitude, and usurps the rights of others,’ enjoying the fruits of impunity. However, we must not forget that impunity often leads a person to foolish and vile acts.

For instance, instead of the promised love, solidarity, and unity in our country, we now have disunity, hatred, and division, as well as humiliating failures in foreign policy. It is about these kinds of people that Christ warns: ‘Beware of the Pharisees.’ And we know that the Pharisees use various means and cunning to hide their evil deeds, which stem from a deceitful and cunning, cowardly and power-hungry, vain and greedy heart, striving to appear righteous as ‘worshipers of God,’” he noted.