The ten bishops who have joined forces with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of the Republic of Armenia (RA) have declared the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church as an “invalid structure”

Below is the respective statement of the “Reform Coordination Council.”

“The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has sent an ‘invitation’ to the bishops to participate in the Bishops’ Synod of the Armenian [Apostolic] Church to be convened in the city of Saint Polten, Austria, on February 16-19, 2026. It is noted that the decision to convene the Synod was made by the Supreme Spiritual Council convened on January 13 of this year. The Bishops’ Synod is expected to discuss ‘recent developments’ around the Armenian [Apostolic] Church and ‘issues related to intra-church life.’

In response to this problematic memo we announce:

Today's Supreme Spiritual Council is an invalid structure, since it was elected in 2017 by the church representative assembly for a four-year term, the activities of which ended in 2021. After that, the removals and additions of members were carried out arbitrarily by the person occupying the throne of the Catholicos of All Armenians [i.e. Karekin II]. Therefore, the decisions of that Supreme Spiritual Council are not canonical.

The residence of the Catholicos of All Armenians is the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, which is the center of the Patriarchate of the Armenian [Apostolic] Church, recognized by both the Christian world and the Patriarchate Seats of the Armenian [Apostolic] Church. As the spiritual center of the Mother Church, all bishops were ordained here. In the conditions of the Republic of Armenia, which is strengthening its independence, the reasons for not convening a Bishops' Synod in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin have not been presented, and this decision is not substantiated. No one has the right to discredit the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and discredit the Armenian Statehood by moving such an important meeting to a foreign country.

There has been no response from the Mother See to date to the issues raised by the Coordinating Council and the clergy members who joined it, the reform of the Armenian [Apostolic] Church, the individual problematic and scandalous cases of the de facto head and some other high-ranking clergy of our Holy Armenian Apostolic Church. No canonical process, meeting, discussion, investigation has been undertaken regarding them. No meeting has been convened at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to clarify these issues and then include them on the agenda of the Bishops’ Synod, as well as to inform the invited bishops of the details in advance.

The questions repeatedly raised by the RA Prime Minister and other [Armenian] officials, specialists, and believers regarding the Armenian [Apostolic] Church have remained unanswered. In particular, no response has been given to the serious accusations leveled against the person occupying the throne of the Catholicos of All Armenians, to the Prime Minister’s proposal to meet with him and discuss the issue, to this day.

For the abovementioned reasons and without sufficient preparation, the convening of such a meeting is unfounded, impossible. The biased decisions to be taken by a destructive meeting being held in such a situation are not canonical and cannot be acceptable, especially since in such a situation none of the high-ranking clergy of the Reform Coordination Council will participate in the meeting scheduled in Austria.

Therefore, on behalf of the Council, WE CALL:

  1. to cancel this division-sowing decision to convene a Bishops’ Synod abroad,
  2. to find realistic ways to put an end to the destructive confrontation between the [Armenian Apostolic] church elite and the [Armenian] state,
  3. to combine all forces and capabilities to bring the long-awaited reform of the Armenian [Apostolic] Church to life,
  4. to all bishop fathers: to refuse to participate in this adventurism, which violates both the centuries-old tradition of the hierarchy of Holy Etchmiadzin and the sacred covenant of unshakable unity,
  5. not to give in to moral and psychological pressures, not to submit to the provocations of the anti-national, foreign-force-serving, Armenian-Church-dividing, anti-state group that still operates in the elite of the Mother See,
  6. to follow the canonical order established over the centuries, remaining faithful to the mission of our Holy Armenian Apostolic Church and the message of Jesus Christ to be the sons of truth and light.

The reason for all this is the result of monopolistic and erroneous governance without a clear charter, outside of canonical principles, a long-term refusal of reforms and silencing the voices of truth. Do not look for culprits elsewhere.”