The indictment arises from a dispute over the leadership of the Masyatsotn Diocese. The appointment and removal of bishops is not an ordinary administrative matter. It is an act of ecclesiastical governance, and it belongs to the canonical institutions of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

This is not a uniquely Armenian principle. Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe, and it is well established that the ability of religious communities to govern their own internal affairs is essential to a free society. Where a religious community is divided over matters of ecclesiastical governance, resolution should come from within the [Church] community rather than through criminal law.

The Assembly takes no position on the underlying dispute concerning the Masyatsotn Diocese, and no position on any question of canon law. Those questions belong to the institutions of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

We respect the Republic of Armenia as a sovereign democratic state, and we respect its Constitution, its laws, and the authority of its elected government. It is because those commitments matter that this prosecution warrants concern.

For centuries the Armenian Apostolic Church has carried our people through persecution, displacement, and genocide, serving as refuge and as the thread of continuity when little else survived. Its independence remains a matter of deep concern to Armenians everywhere, and it is in that spirit that the Assembly speaks.

The Armenian Assembly of America respectfully urges that the indictment be withdrawn, that this matter be resolved through the canonical processes of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and that the Church’s right to govern its own affairs be respected.