Authorities’ interference in church ceremonies is crime – Yesayi Artenyan

Such calls are attempts at division, increasingly evident in recent times, Yesayi Artenyan, Director of the Information Service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, told NEWS. am on January 9, commenting on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement. Pashinyan had urged citizens to speak with priests and persuade them to omit the name of the Catholicos during the liturgy. He added that only under those circumstances would he accept an invitation and attend a service at that church.

Father Yesayi noted that excluding the name of the Catholicos contradicts the canons, and interference by the authorities in church ceremonies is a crime.

“Holy liturgies must be conducted in their full, canonical order,” he emphasized.