A group of high-ranking Armenian Apostolic Church clergy, who recently urged the removal of Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan from his duties and met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, have released a new statement, published by “Haykakan Zhamanak” newspaper, calling for internal repentance and healing within the Church.
Titled “A Challenge of Repentance and Purification for Overcoming the Spiritual Crisis”, the declaration describes the Church as enduring a painful and stormy period marked by unresolved issues, accumulated grievances, lack of dialogue, and suppressed wounds that are now erupting.
“The clamor of mutual accusations is drowning out prayer,” the clergymen wrote, warning that arrogant praise of sin only silences the Church’s call for purification. Yet beyond the noise, they insist, lies an opportunity, not for destruction, but for renewal through love and unity in Christ.
They emphasized that the Church is the Body of Christ, led by the Holy Spirit, and that its current pain reflects the sickness of some of its members. God, they stressed, redeems the humble, not the perfect.
They urged a time of self-examination and repentance, noting that sanctity requires rejecting sin, not covering it up or glorifying it. They warned against indifference to sin, particularly by those responsible for spiritual guidance.
True repentance, they wrote, demands opening one’s heart to God, not exposing others’ hidden faults. Quoting the Gospel—“Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed”—they said personal attacks must not derail the renewal process.
“If suffering is required, let it become the fire of our cleansing, not our destruction,” they said, calling on all—clergy, laypeople, government, opposition, faithful, and estranged—to stop seeing each other as enemies.
“Begin building inner peace, the peace you want for the entire Church. Reject sin, but remain committed to guiding your brothers and sisters toward the truth,” they added, concluding with a prayer for divine mercy and healing for the Church.
On November 28, a scheduled Supreme Spiritual Council meeting at the Mother See was canceled due to the absence of several key bishops. Some of these same bishops previously accused Catholicos Karekin II of covering up Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan’s misconduct and breaking his spiritual oath. Their public statement has received support from Prime Minister Pashinyan.
