ETCHMIADZIN — His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, received lawmakers from the Strong Armenia and Hayastan factions of the ninth National Assembly at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on August 2.
The Catholicos conveyed his greetings and blessings to the lawmakers. During the meeting, he said that, for well-known reasons, he had not attended the opening session of the National Assembly to offer the deputies his blessing and message.
The Catholicos spoke about the domestic and external challenges facing the country, divisions within Armenian society and what he described as “unlawful and unconstitutional actions” against the Armenian Apostolic Church.
He urged the newly elected lawmakers to be guided by common national objectives in their legislative work and to serve the security of Armenia, the strengthening of its statehood and the well-being of its people.
For the first time in the history of independent Armenia, the Catholicos of All Armenians did not attend the opening session of the National Assembly. He had not been invited.
Under the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, the Catholicos and the president of the republic are entitled to deliver welcoming remarks at the opening of the first parliamentary session.
Following President Vahagn Khachaturyan’s address, opposition lawmakers asked about the absence of the Catholicos. Knyaz Hasanov, the eldest member of parliament and the lawmaker presiding over the session, urged them not to disrupt the proceedings.
