His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, expressed his solidarity with the Holy See of Etchmiadzin for announcing its endorsement of the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement headed by the Primate of the Tavush Diocese Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan.
Galstanyan became the lead figure in opposing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s decision to cede four villages in the Tavush Province to Azerbaijan, kicking off the contentious border delimitation and demarcation process between the two countries.
Despite opposition and legitimate concerns from local Tavush residents, the government moved forward with its plans, sparking Galstanyan to lead a protest march from Tavush to Yerevan on Saturday.
Already in its fourth day, the number of protesters has grown as they procession walks through various Armenian cities and towns en-route to Yerevan. On Tuesday, the group had reached Charentsavan, some 21 miles from Yerevan.
The Supreme Spiritual Council of Holy Etchmiadzin issued a statement on Tuesday endorsing Galstanyan’s movement, and calling on Armenian authorities to accept the “legitimate” demands of the protesters.
Armenia’s former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan joined the “Tavush for Homeland” march on May 7
“We view as s extremely dangerous the actions in the border areas of Tavush, which are being taken in the name of border delimitations and demarcation without comprehensive and guaranteed solutions and are causing new threats to our people,” the Etchmiadzin statement said.
The Supreme Spiritual Council went on to say that the leader of the Tavush Diocese and other religious leaders could not indifferent toward what it called “existential threats” to Armenia’s sovereignty.
Catholicos Aram I telephoned His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians on Tuesday to offer his and the Cilicia Catholicosate’s support to the movement and voiced his solidarity with the statement issued by the Supreme Spiritual Council.
“The pontiffs had an exchange of views on the current challenges facing Armenia, especially in the given the situation created inside in the Tavush Province. They pledged to continue their consultations, emphasizing the key role of the Armenian Church,” a statement issued by the Cilicia Catholicosate said.
This was the second such phone call between Aram I and Karekin II in a week. Last week, the Cilician Catholicosate announced that the two pontiff had extensively discussed the current crisis, with Aram I voicing support for Etchmiadzin’s actions.
“We encourage our nation’s faithful to express their concerns and voice their protests in an exclusively peaceful manner and exercising calm and restraint by abstaining from illegal activities. We expect from the services responsible for maintaining public order to act strictly in accordance with the law,” said the Supreme Spiritual Council, alluding to the ongoing march, as well as a large gathering anticipated once the procession reaches Yerevan.
“We also call on the authorities to comply with the fundamental demands of the people and guide the various processes without increasing security threats that cause uncertainty for out people,” the announcement said.
“While we stress the importance of the border delimitation and demarcation process, we, at the same time, affirm these efforts must be carried out in a way that will exclude war, and ensure the return of occupied territories of Armenia and guarantee the safety and security of the population,” the statement added.
“The church, having no ambitions of political power, should continue to take steps with the consciousness of historical responsibility for the strengthening of the homeland and statehood, the protection of the identity and rights of our people, the strengthening of unity and fraternity in national life, contributing to the establishment and strengthening of peace in the region,” the Supreme Spiritual Council said.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Pashinyan accused the protests organizers and the church of attempting to topple his government, saying church leaders “have failed” in their spiritual mission and are making a political moves “because they have nothing to do in the spiritual arena.”
The post Aram I Expresses Support for Etchmiadzin’s Endorsement of ‘Tavush for the Homeland’ Movement first appeared on The South Caucasus News.