CCAF demands end to pressure on Armenian Apostolic Church and persecution of Catholicos of All Armenians

The Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) issued a strong statement condemning a politically driven campaign by Nikol Pashinyan’s government against the Armenian Apostolic Church, CCAF co-president Mourad Papazian announced on Facebook.

The organization said it “regrets and condemns in the strongest possible terms” the repression targeting the Church in Armenia, warning that recent developments mark a dangerous escalation. In particular, the organization pointed to legal proceedings initiated against His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, over matters it argued fall strictly within the jurisdiction of the clergy.

According to the CCAF, the campaign against the head of the Armenian Church and its hierarchy constitutes an unacceptable attack on a central pillar of Armenian national identity. It cautioned that such actions risk deepening internal divisions at a time when Armenia faces serious external challenges, weakening both the homeland and the diaspora.

The CCAF also expressed concern that the situation could create fractures within Armenian society, noting that only the nation’s adversaries would benefit from such discord. It characterized the campaign against Church leadership as politically driven and harmful to national unity and moral strength.

The CCAF urged Pashinyan’s government to reverse course and immediately halt “excesses,” warning that the current trajectory evokes practices from darker chapters of history. It called for a swift review of the decisions taken against the Catholicos, six bishops of the Supreme Spiritual Council, and his secretary.

The statement concluded by reaffirming the French-Armenian community’s respect, solidarity, and full support for Karekin II and the Armenian Apostolic Church, underscoring the diaspora’s concern over the ongoing tensions between state authorities and religious leadership in Armenia.