Armenian cleric in Switzerland backs “reform plan”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Father Gusan Alchanyan, locum tenens of the Armenian Apostolic Church Diocese in Switzerland, has announced his support for the establishment of the Church Reform Coordinating Council initiated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and ten bishops and archbishops. He stated that he accepts the content of the published declaration and the proposed roadmap.

He also expressed readiness to fully participate in the “sacred mission of reforming the Armenian Church.”

“During my service, I have observed the deviation of our church’s leadership from the original mission of the Mother See, its involvement in political processes, and other troubling issues. The concerns recently raised by ten senior clergy of the Armenian Church have long been relevant and require solutions. Thank God that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia has also joined this sacred mission of reform and is contributing significantly to the development of spiritual life in Armenia,” he wrote.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded on Facebook, welcoming Father Gusan Alchanyan’s statement.

“My respects to Father Gusan Alchanyan, locum tenens of the Swiss Diocese,” he wrote.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and ten bishops and archbishops who demanded the resignation of the Catholicos issued a statement calling for participation in the reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Pashinyan read the statement live on Facebook, after which the supporting bishops and archbishops signed it. He announced that a coordinating council was being formed to oversee the reform of the Church, and that new members could only be added with unanimous approval.