Catholicos Criticizes Gov't Amid Blessing for Educators

On August 31, a Holy Liturgy was offered at the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, presided over by the Catholicos of All Armenians.

At the end of the Liturgy, ahead of the new 2025-2026 academic year, a blessing ceremony for educators was held. Afterwards, His Holiness gave his patriarchal blessing to the stalwarts of the education sector. This was stated in a statement released by the Mother See.

"The value system transmitted through our education must become the guarantee for the preservation of the nation's identity and the assurance of its perpetuity. In light of the problematic processes taking place in the country, the spontaneous steps taken in the native educational sphere and the arbitrary approaches being adopted make hopes for positive final outcomes highly questionable," said His Holiness, noting that Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, the chairman of the Mother See's Committee on Educational Issues, should also have been present at the ceremony today, but he is in illegal detention on baseless charges along with Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, national benefactor of the Mother See Samvel Karapetyan, and a number of other Armenians.

The Catholicos of All Armenians observed that this worrying phenomenon is also a consequence of the policy pursued by the authorities towards the church and the atmosphere of intolerance formed in the country.