Statement from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin – August 2016

On July 30, the Monastic Council of the Mother See, along with bishops from the dioceses of the Armenian Church, met in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

The council members reflected on the situation in Yerevan and issued the following statement:

“Recent incidents of Yerevan have undermined peace in our lives. We are deeply saddened, that yesterday evening, the tense situation led to new clashes due to which dozens of people, protesters, policemen and journalists were injured. We consider unacceptable any kind of illegal action and violence which may cause bloodshed and jeopardize the future of our statehood. With troubled heart, but also with faith in our people’s temperance, we urge them not to succumb to emotions, to refuse to engage in conflict and have the will to continue through dialogue. In our country there are indeed many problems and challenges being faced by our society which must be solved as soon as possible, only through a peace process and in the spirit of mutual understanding.

We all are the children of the same nation, have the same vision of a powerful and prosperous Homeland and as native descendants of our patriotic ancestors, we must be guided by the zeal of national interests.

We invite our children to continue their daily prayers in order to seek God’s guidance, and all efforts concerning the situation will have positive results.

We pray to Merciful God to grant quick recovery to all the injured people as well wish resilient faith to our beloved people.

Let us be followers of the commandment of our holy fathers: “Unity in the essentials; Liberty in the non-essentials; Love in all things”

Let God’s love and blessings be with all of us. Amen.”

At the conclusion, the council decided that on Sunday 31 July, all Armenian churches would offer a special Blessing service for the peace, prosperity and perseverance of the Homeland and the Armenian people, as well as for the recovery of all injured people.

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