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The Council of Reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which, among other demands, is calling for the resignation of Catholicos Karekin II, has called for the cancellation of the planned conference of bishops convened by the head of the Church and scheduled to take place in Austria.
The conference of bishops had been scheduled for December 2025 but was subsequently delayed.
The following statement was released by the Council of Reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church, will includes several clergymen and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The statement refers to Karekin II as "the individual occupying the Throne of the Catholicos," once again highlighting accusations of illegitimacy.
“From the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, an “invitation” has been sent to bishops to participate in the Assembly of Bishops of the Armenian Church, to be convened on 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 its meeting held on January 13 of this year. The Assembly of Bishops is expected to examine the “latest developments” surrounding the Armenian Church and “issues related to internal church life.”
In response to this problematic letter, we state the following:
The current Supreme Spiritual Council is an illegitimate body, since it was elected by the 2017 Church Representative Assembly for a four-year term, the activity of which ended in 2021. Thereafter, the removal and addition of members were carried out arbitrarily by the individual occupying the Throne of the Catholicos of All Armenians. Therefore, the decisions of that 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 hierarchy of the Armenian Church, 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 here. Under the conditions of the Republic of Armenia, which is strengthening its independence, no reasons have been presented for not convening the Assembly of Bishops at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and this decision is unjustified. No one has the right, by moving such an important assembly to a foreign country, to undermine the authority of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and to discredit Armenian statehood.
To the issues raised by the Coordinating Council and the clergymen who have joined it, to the reform of the Armenian Church, and to a number of separate problematic and scandalous incidents involving the de facto head of our Holy Armenian Apostolic Church and certain other high-ranking clergymen, there has to date been no response from the Mother See. No canonical process, assembly, discussion, or investigation has been initiated regarding these matters. No meeting has been convened at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to clarify these issues and then include them on the agenda of the Assembly of Bishops, nor to inform the invited bishops of the details in advance.
The questions repeatedly raised regarding the Armenian Church by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and other officials, experts, and faithful have remained unanswered. In particular, no response has been given to date to the serious accusations voiced against the individual occupying the Throne of the Catholicos of All Armenians, nor to the Prime Minister’s proposal to meet with him and discuss the matter.
For the above-mentioned reasons, and in the absence of adequate preparation, the convening of such an assembly is unjustified and unacceptable. The prejudged decisions that may be adopted by a destructive assembly convened under such circumstances are not canonical and cannot be acceptable. Moreover, under these conditions, none of the high-ranking clergymen of the Reform Coordinating Council will participate in the assembly planned in Austria.
Therefore, the Council calls:
a. to cancel this divisive decision to convene the Assembly of Bishops abroad; b. to find realistic ways to put an end to the destructive confrontation between the leadership of the Church and the state; c. to unite all forces and capabilities to bring to life the long-awaited reform of the Armenian Church; d. to call upon all bishops to refuse participation in this adventurism, which violates both the centuries-old hierarchical tradition of Holy Etchmiadzin and the sacred vow of unshakable unity; e. not to yield to moral and psychological pressure, and not to submit to the provocations of anti-national, foreign-serving, Church-dividing, and anti-state factions still operating within the upper ranks of the Mother See; f. to follow the canonical order established over centuries, remaining faithful to the mission of our Holy Armenian Apostolic Church and to the commandment of Jesus Christ to be sons of truth and light.
All of this is the result of autocratic and misguided governance carried out without a clear Canon Law, outside canonical principles, of a persistent refusal of reforms, and of silencing the voices of truth. Do not seek the guilty elsewhere. Mark 13:13: And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”