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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has invited the public to join him in a procession on Christmas Day, January 6.
He said the procession, which he described as a “pilgrimage,” will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Yerevan and end near Katoghike Holy Mother of God Church in downtown Yerevan.
The announcement came a day after Pashinyan and several high-ranking clergymen signaled what they described as the launch of a process to reform the Armenian Apostolic Church.
“What is the meaning of the procession? First, it is to mark the Holy Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Second, it is to affirm our faithfulness to the sacred tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. The third important purpose is to express support for the reform of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, regarding which we issued a statement last night together with a group of bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church,” Pashinyan said on social media.
“The next purpose is to express support for our statehood and to state our position that the practice of using the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church as a tool of hybrid warfare against our state, sovereignty, and independence by the de facto head of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and his close circle is unacceptable, and we will not allow such a practice to continue," he said, referring to Karekin II, the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, whom Pashinyan considers illegitimate.
"It is precisely this purpose that is especially essential to the logic of the event taking the form of a procession," Pashinyan said.
He added that the march would be “peaceful, filled with Christian love and determination for the reform of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.”
Pashinyan said he will attend a Christmas Mass at Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral at 10:30 a.m. ahead of the procession.
“I am calling on everyone to come and participate in the procession, which will start at 1:30 p.m.,” he said.