The Episcopal Assembly of the Catholicosate of All Armenians of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church spokewith a statementin which it is said:
"On February 17-19, 2026, H.S.O.T.T. With the invitation and blessing of Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Episcopal meeting convened in St. Pölten, Austria, completed its work.
As a result of the meeting, the members of the congregation issued a statement.
"We, the twenty-five bishops of the Catholicosate of All Armenians, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Armenian Patriarchate of K. Pauls, offer thanks and glory to the Heavenly Lord, who gave us the grace to renew our episcopal covenant signed before the Holy Table of the Descent with a prayer union at the beginning of the Great Remembrance period, and to strengthen our sacred vocation with spiritual separation to carry out our mission more zealously and responsibly in the current turbulent times, in the light of our Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, the strengthening of the faith of our faithful people around the world, and the strengthening of the spiritual life.
We express our filial thanks to His Holiness the Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Garegin II, at whose fatherly invitation our bishops serving in the homeland and in the Diaspora have come together to jointly reflect on the challenges facing the Armenian Church and to find solutions to overcome them.
We record with deep concern and condemnation that due to groundless criminal prosecution, the departure of the Armenian Patriarch and our six bishop brothers from Armenia and the participation in this respectable gathering of important importance in the life of the Church was blocked. Because of this artificially created obstacle, we were forced to listen to the patriarchal message of the Catholicos of All Armenians through a video link. The thrones of our other Endowed Sees also sent their messages to this meeting: His Holiness Lord Aram I the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, His Eminence the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem His Eminence Archbishop Nurhan Manukyan and His Eminence the Armenian Patriarch of K. Pols His Eminence Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan.
During its three-day sessions, the episcopal meeting examined the following items included in the agenda:
- "The mission of the Church in the modern era and the current challenges in the homeland and diaspora" (reporter: Archbishop T. Hovnan Terteryan),
- "The current state of church-state relations and the situation created around the Church in Armenia" (reporter: Bishop Grigor Khachatryan),
- "The protection of the autonomy of the Church from political speculations and the ways to overcome the created situation" (reporter: Bishop T. Ashot Mnatsakanyan).
As a result of meaningful and constructive discussions in the atmosphere of brotherly love and mutual understanding, we, the participants of the Episcopal meeting, resolutely reaffirm the orders and principles consecrated by the tradition and centuries-old experience of our Holy Church in relation to its soul-saving mission, as well as national and domestic life, noting in particular that:
a. The head of the Armenian Church, founded by the preaching of Saint Thaddeus and Saint Bartholomew, is Jesus Christ (Eph. A 22). This establishment is governed by the Holy Scriptures, the doctrine and rules of the Church and the principle of apostolic succession, the pontificate of the Armenian Patriarchs. The mission of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church in the homeland and in the diaspora includes the spiritual care and Christian upbringing of the children of our nation, the preservation of national and spiritual identity.
b. Throughout the many centuries of its history, the Armenian Church, as the "Church of the living God, a pillar and institution of the truth" (1 Tim. C 15), in accordance with the requirements of the time, has always kept alive its original mission of preaching the Gospel of Christ and leading the people to salvation.
c. At the same time, the Armenian Church, as an ancient institution of nationwide importance, has always been an advocate of the existence of independent Armenian statehood and has supported it to the maximum extent and continues to contribute to its strengthening and progress, with the unwavering conviction that the native state is the protector and guarantor of the permanence of the Armenian people and the realization of national aspirations. In that way, the Armenian Church has never served and does not serve foreign powers or foreign interests, but has kept its loyalty exclusively to the Armenian people, their statehood and the preservation of national identity.
In this context, the episcopal class expresses deep concern regarding the current undesirable state of church-state relations and calls on the RA authorities in this dangerous situation to:
- to stop the persecution of the Church and to respect the sovereignty and autonomy of the Church established for centuries, anchoring the church-state relations on mutual respect, clear separation of powers and the priority of the national interest,
- put an end to the repression against the clergymen and the nationally elected Patriarch of All Armenians with fabricated accusations and slanders,
- to release the arrested four holy brothers of ours, the priest, as well as the Armenians who came out in defense of the Church,
- act exclusively according to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, legislation and international laws and adhere to the declared democratic principles, guaranteeing the freedom of conscience, religion and belief in the country, ensuring public solidarity instead of division,
- to resolve existing problems and contradictions in the spirit of dialogue, without preconditions, refraining from hopeless ultimatums.
We, the participants of the episcopal gathering, simultaneously urge the eight reverend priests:
- to act with the awareness of the oath of loyalty to Saint Etchmiadzin and the Catholicos of All Armenians and the service title,
- discuss and solve problems related to intra-church life exclusively in the authorized instances of the Church,
- to refrain from anti-canonical actions, aggressive steps and separatist manifestations that threaten to cause schism, weakening the mission of the Church in the lives of our faithful people. The discounting of the section commemorating the name of His Holiness the Patriarch in this circular is ecclesiologically unacceptable for any reason and a direct attack on the Congregation of St. Etchmiadzin and the unity of the Armenian Church.
Noting that any improvement movement under external coercion is unacceptable, we see an imperative need to overcome the challenges faced by the Armenian Church and carry out improvement works only in the episcopal assembly and the highest church canonical bodies.
We, the bishops of the Armenian Church, reaffirm our loyalty to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Catholicos of All Armenians as a visible symbol and guarantee of the Church's unity, reconciliation and solidarity, because "God is not a God of turmoil, but of peace" (1 Cor. ZD 33).
With the blessing of the Armenian Patriarch, we are committed to contribute to the investigation and overcoming of the challenges facing the Church, to the further strengthening of our spiritual service in the life of our people, by periodically convening the episcopal assembly.
We urge the pilgrim spiritual class of our Holy Church to remain steadfast in their vocation and service, "being an example to the believers in word, practice, love, faith, purity" (I Tim. D 12).
The Church must steadily continue its sacred mission, regardless of external pressures, remaining faithful to the Holy Gospel and the orthodox doctrine of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.
On this occasion, we also appeal to our faithful people, as "one body and one soul" in Christ (Eph. D 4), to remain faithful and united around our Holy Apostolic Church and to build and brighten our national and spiritual communities with prayers and devotion, with good deeds.
Being deeply concerned about the false trial and illegal verdicts carried out in Baku against the leadership of Artsakh, we appeal to the international community and the Sister Churches to continue making efforts towards the early release of the Armenian hostages.
It is our prayer from the bottom of our hearts that the Good God, through the intercession of St. May the Mother of God and all saints, steadfastly and undisturbed, keep and preserve our Holy Church, strengthen the independent statehood of Armenians, lead the life of the world-wide Armenian nation in peace and prosperity. We ask that the Lord grant peace to the whole world, to all nations and peoples.
"Finally, brethren, be of good cheer, be perfect, be comforted, be united, and be at peace; and the God of love and peace be with you" (2 Cor. JD 11)".
T. Khajak Arkeps: Last year
T. Hovnan Arkeps: Terterian
T. Vigen Arkeps: Aikazyan
T. Aram Arkeps: Ateshyan
T. Ezras Arkeps: Nersisyan
T. Ashot Eps: Mnatsakanyan
T. Armash Eps: Nalbandian
T. Ararat Eps. Galtagjian
T. Markos Eps: Hovhannisyan
T. Hovakim Eps. Manukyan
T. Tatev Eps. Hakobyan
T. Narek Eps: Berberian
T. Abgar Eps: Hovakimyan
T. Serovbe Eps. Isakhanyan
T. Daniel Eps. Fentgian
T. Tiran Eps: Petrosyan
T. Oshakan Eps. Gulgulyan
T. Theodore Epis. Zakarian
T. Mesrop Eps: Last year
T. Koryun Eps. Baghdasaryan
T. Sunday Eps: Davtyan
T. Aren Eps. Shahenyan
T. Grigor Eps. Khachatryan:
T. Parthev Aps. Barseghyan
T. Khoren Eps. Arakelyan".
