St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, the Primate's seat, was re-consecrated in Baghdad


After a year-long renovation, the St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, the Primate's seat of the Iraqi-Armenian Diocese, was reopened in Baghdad on December 20. The church, built in 1957, has never undergone such an extensive and comprehensive renovation.

 

The holding of the Episcopal Assembly in Austria is conditioned by the situation in Armenia


The planned Episcopal Assembly in Austria is conditioned by historical, canonical and situational circumstances, with the aim of ensuring the free, legal and full course of the conference. This decision stems from historical experience and the current situation, the aim of which is to ensure the free course of the conference and the full adoption of decisions, without external pressure.

The number of clergy defrocked during the reign of His Holiness Karekin II, the Patriarch of All Armenians


Some of the clergy voluntarily left the spiritual sphere, unable to bear the heavy burden of the church. Some did not justify the hopes of their spiritual leaders. According to statistics, in fact, 38 clergy left the sphere by their own application, 27 voluntarily left the place of service, 15 were defrocked based on petitions submitted by diocesan leaders, and 21 were directly defrocked by His Holiness the Patriarch.

 

The first Liturgy was served in the church of the village of Ararat under the leadership of Archimandrite Ruben Zargaryan


By the order of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the Primate of the Diocese of Masyatsotn, Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, was dismissed from his post due to abuse of the position of Primate, failure to fulfill his duties, and coercion and pressure on the clergy of the diocese. Archimandrite Ruben Zargaryan was appointed the Vicar of the Diocese of Masyatsotn. The diocese was facing crises of governance and internal division, and the need to restructure its spiritual life.

Clergymen have made statements in support of Catholicos of All Armenians


Amid the slanderous attacks against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, hundreds of public statements of loyalty and support have been made by the church system. They have been made individually, by united dioceses, and officially.

Our prayer is that all the captives return to their homeland as soon as possible. Catholicos of All Armenians


The Catholicos of All Armenians, addressing the topic of the return of the captives, wished that with the blessing of the Lord and the support of the entire people, they will restore the peaceful and normal course of their lives.

The circulating thesis of “intra-church contradictions” is artificial. SSC


Considering the accusation of the Church’s involvement in politics as unfounded and unacceptable, the Supreme Spiritual Council rejected the attempts by the ruling power to involve the Armenian Church in political processes by forming artificial agendas, which creates new divisions and contradictions in national life.

 

Father Ruben's appointment was not a simple administrative decision, but rather a sign of trust


The newly appointed vicar of the Masyatsotn Diocese, Father Ruben, was born in 1979 in the city of Hrazdan. He received his secondary education in the secondary schools of Hrazdan and then in the village of Aratashen.

Persecution of the Church Completely Contradicts the Constitution of Armenia


The high-ranking clergy of the Armenian Church have been targeted in an attempt to deprive the church of its independence and intensify systemic oppression. What is particularly troubling is that the persecution of the church completely contradicts the Constitution of Armenia.

Religious ties of non-religious people and non-believers with the Armenian Apostolic Church: A new book


Historian Stepan Stepanyants has addressed the religious ties of non-Armenian and non-religious people with the Armenian Apostolic Church in the 19th and 20th centuries in a new work. The 620-page collection of documents was published by the Publishing House of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The author compiled, translated, annotated the collection and wrote a foreword. The documents collected show that many Jews living in the Russian Empire in the 19th century decided to be baptized and convert to Christianity.

The faithful left the Mother See only after the Catholicos returned to the monastery


The group of bishops who arrived at the Mother See by minibus, under the supervision of police officers and people in civilian clothes, tried to read a statement near the Arch of King Trdat, but as a result of the chants of the faithful, their voices were not heard. First, Bishop Anushavan Zhamkochyan tried to spread a statement on behalf of the group of bishops, then Archbishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan. They left the territory of the Mother See accompanied by whistles from the faithful and security forces. The citizens who came to support the Catholicos of All Armenians waited until His Holiness returned from the temple to the cloister, after which they left.

All structures of the Bulgarian diocese have denied the statement of Pashinyan's media outlet


A media outlet owned by Nikol Pashinyan's family wrote that several members of the diocesan council of the Armenian Church in Bulgaria expressed solidarity with the ten bishops who issued a statement about the defrocked former priest Armen Melkonyan. Almost all diocesan structures and community organizations operating in Bulgaria, led by the vicar of the prelate, Bishop Tatev Hakobyan, have denied that publication with official statements.