A roadmap for the restoration of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church after the removal of Ktrich Nersisyan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote this on Facebook—and referring to the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II.

Pashinyan added as follows:

“1. Election of a locum tenens of the Catholicos in accordance with the logic of the mechanisms operating in the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.

  1. Adoption of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church Statute. The Statute should address:
  2. a) The rules of moral conduct for clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and guarantees for their ensuring,
  3. b) Financial transparency of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and guarantees for its ensuring,
  4. c) The necessity of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church being apolitical and guarantees for its ensuring,
  5. d) Compliance of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church’s activities with the RA [i.e. the Republic of Armenia] Tax Code and guarantees for its ensuring; the RA legislation, in turn, will provide guarantees that taxes and fees paid to the state budget from the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church’s activities will be fully returned to the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church,
  6. e) Social guarantees for clergy and guarantees for their ensuring so that clergy will be able to fully benefit from the cumulative pension system, income tax returns, social credits, and universal health insurance (currently, clergy mostly do not benefit from these systems due to not having a recorded remuneration system).
  7. Elections of the Catholicos of All Armenians in accordance with the new Statute.

P.S. The Statute is discussed and adopted by the ecclesiastical body with the authority to do so. In the case of the mediation of the locum tenens, the Government will provide advisory support for the work on drafting of the Statute.”