Summoning Garegin B. Vepahar to the court is unacceptable and reprehensible. Aram I

The Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I of the Great House, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America criticized and condemned the trial against the Catholicos of All Armenians and high-ranking clergymen.

Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I called it “unacceptable and reprehensible” to call Garegin II to the court, who noted that he suggested Garegin II not to appear in court and to send his representative.

“We expressed our deep protest to Garegin Vehapar and even suggested not to appear in court and to send his representative. We appeal to the state officials, as we have often done, to show respect towards our church and His Holiness and to examine the issues within the limits of mutual understanding and propriety, respecting the laws of the state and the internal order and rule of the church,” said the statement of the Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I of the Great House.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned “the ongoing legal prosecutions against the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, its highest authority and high-ranking clergy”. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem considered today’s court session “a deeply disturbing and unacceptable event in national-ecclesiastical history.”

“The intervention of the state bodies in the internal canonical, administrative and disciplinary matters of the Church contradicts the principle of the autonomy of the Church and creates a dangerous precedent in the state-Church relations,” said the statement released by the Patriarchate.

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem demanded to stop the prosecution against the Catholicos of All Armenians and the members of the Supreme Spiritual Council.

“The authorities of Armenia are obliged to realize that their attitude towards the Catholicos of All Armenians is not only an internal political issue. We appeal to the relevant bodies of Armenia to respect the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the autonomy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, its internal canonical order and the dignity of the republic, and to refrain from such steps that could deepen the national division and cause irreparable damage to the relations between the Armenian Church and the state in Jerusalem. in the statement.

The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America has also stated that the issues related to church management, discipline and leadership belong to the church’s own canonical order.

The Catholicos of All Armenians will stand before the court today as an accused. The criminal case against him and six bishops and archbishops is in the Armavir court. The Catholicos is accused of obstructing the execution of a judicial act, in a case in which six high-ranking clerics of the church were also accused.

This case concerns Reverend Gevorg, one of the 10 bishops who joined the Prime Minister’s anti-Catholic campaign. The Catholicos deposed him, and the court obliged to restore the clergyman to his post. The Mother See, however, did not restore and excommunicated him, declaring that these matters are not within the domain of the court, this is an interference with the autonomy of the church. The investigator considered this to be obstruction of justice.

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