His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, presided over the November 4-7 meeting of the Supreme Spiritual Council, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. The meeting began with requiem prayers for the recently departed Archbishop Kissag Mouradian, the former Primate of the Diocese of Argentina.
Legal matters dominated the subsequent proceedings, with presentations given by experts in international law and Armenia’s judicial code. Scholars and attorneys discussed the ongoing detention of Armenian military personnel and civilians forcibly held in Baku, as well as the recent arrests of high-ranking Armenian clergy within the Armenian republic.
The Supreme Spiritual Council reaffirmed the position of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to promote the establishment of justice, defend the civil rights of clergy and the faithful, and support the principles of freedom of conscience and expression.
A report documenting the destruction of Armenian spiritual and cultural monuments in Artsakh was also received by the council, with members hearing of the various efforts by the church to mobilize international support to preserve Artsakh’s spiritual heritage.
Other topics addressed at the four-day meeting included questions pertaining to the pastoral mission of the church, disciplinary matters, a resolution to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the death of St. Gregory the Illuminator, and a project to formally canonize Gomidas Vartabed.
The session concluded with words of blessing and gratitude from the Catholicos of All Armenians.
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