The Chairman of the Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church, Harutyun Agha-Sargsyan, has issued a statement regarding the denial by the authorities of Armenia of the opportunity for the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, to travel to Tbilisi and attend the funeral of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II.

“This is the bottom. The authorities of the day have demonstrated the most absurd degree of their vindictiveness and moral degradation. By effectively holding the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, hostage and forbidding him from traveling to Tbilisi to bid his final farewell to the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, this regime proves that it is completely devoid of any sanctity.

This is petty and cowardly hooliganism. When the state apparatus cannot restrain its anger even in the face of death, mourning, and a final farewell, we are dealing not with a government, but with a national disgrace.

This is an affront to the dignity of our state. By depriving the Patriarch of All Armenians of the opportunity to attend the funeral of his spiritual brother, you are not humiliating His Holiness – you are turning Armenia into a laughing stock, showing the world that our country is ruled by people who do not care about centuries-old Armenian-Georgian relations.

This is blatant blasphemy. Where normal people remain silent and bow their heads, you are building your petty, obsessive barriers. This is an encroachment not only on church order, but also on basic human morality.

We strongly demand that you immediately and without legal tricks lift this shameful ban against the Catholicos. Your hostile and destructive campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church has crossed all boundaries. Come to your senses. Whoever remains silent and tolerates this disgrace today becomes an accomplice in this spiritual terror carried out at the state level.

You are not attacking the Church – you are exposing your own moral bankruptcy, fear, and pettiness. Your actions evoke nothing but disgust and pity,” the statement reads.