Holy Etchmiadzin has condemned the Civil Contract party’s pre-election platform

The Holy See of Etchmiadzin strongly condemns the inclusion of unacceptable provisions concerning the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church in the pre-election platform of the Civil Contract party.

“With pre-election promises to continue the blatant unlawful actions against the Church, the full anti-church nature and purpose of the ruling political force’s ideology is once again laid bare,” the Holy See of Etchmiadzin states.

The party’s platform enshrines imposed provisions on reforming the Church, revising its charter, removing the Catholicos of All Armenians from office, and holding new elections. This constitutes a clear violation of the constitutional order, the Church’s right to self-governance, and the fundamental international principles of freedom of conscience and religion. The pre-election promises to continue unlawful actions against the Church once again demonstrate the anti-church nature and purpose of the ruling political force’s ideology.

The millennia-old mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, its sacred traditions and spiritual life must not become the subject of political manipulation. As the Armenian Apostolic Church has repeatedly affirmed, the election of the Catholicos and any transformations within the ecclesiastical sphere belong exclusively to the spiritual-canonical domain and therefore fall outside the competence of political parties and state authorities.

The entrenched practice of breaking the law is ruinous for the nation and absolutely inadmissible. It contradicts the interests of our people scattered across the world, threatens the foundations of the national value system, and undermines spiritual security,” the statement reads.