Father Yesayi Arthenyan of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin urged individuals making groundless statements about the Church to acknowledge wrongdoing, after remarks by Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan sparked backlash.

The Director of the Information System of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Father Yesayi Arthenyan, responding to a question about statements defaming the Church voiced by the National Assembly Speaker in an interview with a Russian media outlet, urged “those making unfounded statements to admit their guilt,” Pastinfo reports.

“We urge individuals making baseless statements to admit their guilt and refrain from irresponsible remarks. During the period of Lent, this is more important than ever. In that case, there will be no need to apply to courts over imaginary and unaddressed accusations,” he said.

Father Yesayi drew attention to the fact that after the interview, the individual in question made a post suggesting that critics have a problem with their knowledge of the Russian language.

The segment concerning clergy in National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan’s interview with the Russian opposition television channel Dozhd triggered a wave of criticism. Responding to assessments directed at him, Simonyan urged critics to “admit their illiteracy or go to court.”

During the interview, journalist Yekaterina Kotrikadze asked the speaker: “You know that in Russia you are being actively criticized for confrontation with the Church. How do you respond?” In reply, Simonyan said there is no confrontation with the Church, but rather resistance to individuals “who serve interests that are often located outside the Republic of Armenia, and moreover serve their personal, financial, as well as intimate interests.”

“I want to give an example. Suppose in some country it turns out that person X, who holds a high position in the Church, is a pedophile, and if law enforcement bodies react to that or a politician criticizes pedophilia or something similar, would that be considered an attack on the Church? One cannot hide under this black cassock and think it is an indulgence allowing one to do whatever one wants, and when someone comes after you, to claim that it is an attack on the Church,” Simonyan said.