Bishops` behavior toward Garegin II treachery - clergyman 

ArmInfo. Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II has no resignation options. This was stated to journalists by Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, head of the chancery of  the Mother See of Etchmiadzin.

According to him, there are no grounds for the Catholicos's  resignation. "The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church cannot resign  simply because certain circles, including dubious ones, are pushing  such an agenda. This cannot become a reality even if 10 bishops have  demanded the Patriarch's resignation. The Catholicos is elected by  the Church Assembly," the archbishop said. He pointed to the  prevailing opinion that blackmail was used against these bishops. "I  don't know whether pressure was actually applied to them, but under  any scenario, such behavior by the bishops is nothing less than  betrayal, which, in essence, is a single sin."

Speaking of the accusations against Khachatryan himself, the  archbishop added that he does not consider himself sinless. However,  according to him, everything attributed to him has no connection  whatsoever to his life, his biography, or his actions. The  archbishop, in particular, pointed to video footage allegedly  featuring him, calling it false and falsified. Speaking about the  criminal case opened by the Investigative Committee, Khachatryan  noted that the Investigative Committee should open a case not for  violating his right to privacy, but for spreading hatred and  hostility against him. Specifically, the creator and distributor of  this video recording must be found.

When asked about the accusations that he had an affair with his  uncle's wife, Khachatryan noted that both he and a relative, his  uncle's wife, had been summoned for questioning by the National  Security Service. Their position was the same: the matter had no  basis in reality. The archbishop emphasized that he did not resign  precisely because those distributing the recording wanted him to.  However, he is prepared to suspend his powers and even abdicate if he  believes it would aid the investigation. He noted that he will not  cease his ministry simply because certain circles desire it. "But the  moment may come when I feel that terminating my ministry could be  useful for an objective investigation and could help end public  misunderstandings. Furthermore, church leadership must evaluate  whether this is necessary or not," the archbishop said. It is worth  noting that several weeks ago, inappropriate video materials related  to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan began to circulate online. He  himself denied any involvement, as he was not featured in the video  footage. The Investigative Committee of Armenia opened a criminal  investigation into the incident and issued clarifications confirming  the authenticity of the video footage. Following this, a statement by  13 bishops circulated online demanding that the Catholicos of All  Armenians remove Archbishop Arshak from the Mother See of Etchmiadzin  and freeze his powers. Notably, this statement by the bishops was  welcomed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who had launched an anti-  church campaign against Karekin II.