News - Catholicos of All Armenians calls on Ukraine authorities not to violate Orthodox community unity

Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II has called on the Ukrainian authorities not to violate the historically established unity of the Orthodox community. This was told to Armenian News-NEWS.am by Father Yesayi Artenyan, Director of the Information System of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, commenting on Tuesday’s decision of the Ukrainian parliament, which enables the banning the activities of the canonical Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. "The Catholicos of All Armenians expressed his position regarding this alarming problem related to the religious life of Ukraine, when the law on the protection of the constitutional order in the field of activities of religious organizations was still being developed. Unfortunately, the fair concerns expressed by the Armenian Church and other churches about the possible unwanted consequences of the ratification of this bill and its negative impact on the Orthodox were not responded to, the decisions were made under the influence of the created political situation. The Catholicos of All Armenians appeals to the children of the friendly people of Ukraine, the authorities and legislators, urging them not to violate the historically established unity of the Orthodox community, to protect the rights of existing religious communities, the faithful and the clergy, to respect the integrity of sanctuaries," said Father Artenyan. He added that it is the wish of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the pious people that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict be resolved as soon as possible by God's mercy, unacceptable phenomena disrupting church life be ruled out, and the rich traditions of friendship between brotherly peoples experienced for centuries be restored.