We are the first state to adopt Christianity. Today’s procession symbolizes that we have begun to walk the path opened by Jesus Christ, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday, January 6, the Armenian Christmas day.

“A very symbolic thing has happened, because we have all been praying to God for peace for a very long time, but finally the moment has come when we have understood that in parallel with praying to God for peace, we ourselves must create that peace with our decisions, our actions, our steps. And today that peace has been created in the Republic of Armenia, and today we were walking to tell Jesus Christ, our Savior, that we are finally following your message. And we are creating peace, and we are not only begging you for that peace, but we are also calling ourselves for that peace.

(...).

Today, and not only today, we are facing a situation when some are trying to use our dear, our holy Armenian Apostolic Church as a fulcrum to act against the Republic of Armenia.

The [Armenian] government has not acted, does not act, and can never act against the [Armenian Apostolic] Church, because the government [itself] is a follower of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.

We have only come to record that some are trying to use the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church as a base against the [Armenian] state. I, as the Prime Minister elected by the people of the Republic of Armenia, say that we will not allow this.

Those people who brought the [Armenian Apostolic] Church to this point so that it would be possible for some to think of using it as a base for actions against the Republic of Armenia, these people, according to our church canons, have become schismatics.

Unfortunately, today the de facto head of the [Armenian Apostolic] Church [i.e. Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II] and his close narrow circle, we must record, are essentially in sectarian logic. This means that we must free the Armenian Apostolic Church from schism. We must return the [Armenian Apostolic] Church to the people. The [Armenian Apostolic] Church belongs to Jesus Christ and the [Armenian Apostolic] Church is for the people.

In our [Armenian Apostolic] Church, Christ comes out of isolation. You saw that the previous day, together with 10 bishops, we made a decision and signed on the launch of reforms in the Armenian Apostolic Church. This text clearly states that each of us accepts our sin and responsibility, and we must also accept our sin and responsibility," the Armenian premier noted.