Church Reform Council Denounces Decision to Hold Bishops’ Assembly Abroad

YEREVAN — The Reform Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church has called for the cancellation of the decision to convene a Bishops’ Assembly abroad. In a statement, the Council emphasizes the need to find realistic paths to end the destructive confrontation between the Church hierarchy and the state.

According to the statement, bishops of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin have been sent “invitations” to participate in a Bishops’ Assembly scheduled for February 16–19, 2026, in the city of St. Pölten, Austria. It is noted that the decision to convene the assembly was made by the Supreme Spiritual Council at a meeting held on January 13 of this year. The assembly is expected to discuss the “latest developments” surrounding the Armenian Church and issues related to internal church life.

In response to this decision, the Reform Council declares:

The current Supreme Spiritual Council is an illegitimate body, as it was elected by the 2017 Church Representative Assembly for a four-year term that ended in 2021. Subsequent departures and appointments of members were carried out arbitrarily by the individual occupying the throne of the Catholicos of All Armenians. Consequently, the decisions of this Supreme Spiritual Council are not canonical.

The seat of the Catholicos of All Armenians is the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, which is the center of the Armenian Church’s hierarchy and is recognized both by the Christian world and by the hierarchical Sees of the Armenian Church. As the spiritual center of the Mother Church, all bishops have been ordained there. Under the conditions of an independent Republic of Armenia, no justification has been provided for not convening a Bishops’ Assembly at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. This decision is unfounded, and no one has the right, by transferring such an important assembly to a foreign country, to undermine the authority of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin or discredit the Armenian state.

The Council further states that the issues raised by the Coordinating Council and the clergy who have joined it—concerning Church reform, as well as specific problematic and scandalous incidents involving the de facto head of the Armenian Apostolic Church and certain other high-ranking clerics—have received no response from the Mother See to date. No canonical process, assembly, discussion, or investigation has been initiated. Nor has any meeting been convened at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to clarify these issues, include them on the agenda of a Bishops’ Assembly, or inform the invited bishops in advance of the relevant details.

Questions repeatedly raised by the Prime Minister of Armenia, other officials, experts, and the faithful regarding the Armenian Church have likewise gone unanswered. In particular, serious allegations directed at the individual occupying the throne of the Catholicos of All Armenians, as well as the Prime Minister’s proposal to meet and discuss these matters, have received no response to date.

For these reasons, and in the absence of adequate preparation, the convening of such an assembly is unjustified and unacceptable. Any predetermined decisions adopted by a destructive assembly convened under these circumstances would be non-canonical and cannot be considered valid. Moreover, under such conditions, none of the senior clergy of the Reform Coordinating Council will participate in the assembly planned in Austria.

Accordingly, the Council issues the following calls:

1. a) To cancel the divisive decision to convene a Bishops’ Assembly abroad;
   b) To find realistic ways to put an end to the destructive confrontation between the Church hierarchy and the state;
   c) To unite all forces and capabilities to finally bring about the long-awaited reform of the Armenian Church;
   d) To call on all bishop-fathers to refuse participation in this adventurism, which violates both the centuries-old hierarchical tradition of Holy Etchmiadzin and the sacred vow of unbreakable unity;
   e) To resist moral and psychological pressure and not succumb to provocations by anti-national, foreign-serving, Church-splitting, and anti-state groups that continue to operate within the upper echelons of the Mother See;
   f) To adhere to the canonical order established over centuries, remaining faithful to the mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and to the command of Jesus Christ to be sons of truth and light.

The statement concludes that the root cause of the current situation lies in autocratic and misguided governance lacking a clear statute, operating outside canonical principles, persistently rejecting reforms, and silencing voices of truth. “Do not look elsewhere for the guilty,” the Council states.

“‘And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake; but he who endures to the end shall be saved’ (Mark 13:13),” the statement concludes.