The Catholicos Defends Blasphemy: Archbishop Arakel

For a month, we have been telling the Catholicos of All Armenians, urging him that the issue of Archbishop Arshak should be addressed, as there has been a blasphemy. We have even said that instead of removing him from office, he should be suspended for a certain period, say 5-6 months, to go, repent, and return to the church. This was mentioned by the leader of the Kotayk diocese, Archbishop Arakel Karapetyan, in an interview with NEWS.am. He also met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan yesterday and signed a petition with other bishops.

He added that the Catholicos had said, ‘Maybe this is not the truth,’ but then all evidence showed that it was indeed reality. “Afterward, the Catholicos formed a committee and instructed them to deal with the issue. An investigation was conducted, and when the results came back, the Catholicos said, ‘Those results mean nothing to me; I cannot remove Arshak. Removing Arshak means the destruction of the Armenian church.’ If the church is to be destroyed by one Arshak, then let it be destroyed. If he thinks that way, then he is defending blasphemy. This has not sat well with many bishops. This is what we want, we want nothing more,” he stated.

When asked if their demands included the Catholicos's resignation, he responded, “If he resolves this issue, then there’s no such problem. If he doesn’t resolve it, I cannot say. No clergyman has anything against the Armenian church; the Armenian clergy sees that sin is snowballing. We want that snowball to melt, and melting will happen when one acknowledges sin, repents, and atones. There is no movement against the church. We only ask to suspend this person for the time being; even the question of removal is not on the table,” Archbishop Arakel Karapetyan added.

Regarding their meeting with the Prime Minister the day before, Archbishop Arakel declined to provide any details, noting that only the Prime Minister's office could answer those questions.