Being a priest in Armenia today means being ready “at any moment to find oneself under government pressure,” Fr. Nerses Khananyan, spiritual pastor of St. Hakob Church in Simferopol, wrote on his Facebook page.
Addressing his fellow clergymen, he urged them not to succumb to temptations and not to betray the sacred vow made before the altar of Holy Etchmiadzin.
“Every step not only of the head of our Church but also of ordinary parish priests is subjected to strict scrutiny by the authorities, in the hope of finding something to condemn, restrict or break them…
The authorities’ tactics are quite flexible. Realizing that the majority of the senior clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church remain loyal to the Catholicos and wish to meet with him, the Armenian authorities have banned the Catholicos from leaving the country.
As it appears, Pashinyan has forgotten that our Catholicos bears the title of Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians, and the vast Armenian diaspora is today deprived of the opportunity to communicate with its Patriarch.
The moral suffering continues in the form of constant public attacks against the clergy, yet our priests, in response, continue to serve, pray and provide spiritual guidance to the Armenian people,” the post reads.
He noted that the situation is difficult for priests, but they must overcome evil with goodness.
“Priest brothers, do not be defeated by evil; overcome it with good. Remain faithful, even unto death…” Fr. Nerses wrote.
On February 14, it became known that Armenia’s Prosecutor’s Office had initiated criminal proceedings against Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II on charges of failing to comply with a court ruling in a case involving the former head of the Masis Diocese and had banned him from leaving the country.
