Archbishops Mikael and Bagrat urge Catholicos of All Armenians to  terminate  powers of 10 bishops who supported Pashinyan`s anti-church  campaign

ArmInfo.Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, head of the Shirak Diocese, and Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, leader of the "Sacred Struggle" movement, have issued a statement from prison, calling on Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II to terminate the powers of 10 bishops who have strayed from church  canons and supported the anti-church campaign launched by current Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The archbishops' statement  was published by the press service of the "Sacred Struggle" movement.

They expressed regret that ten of the 57 bishops of the Mother See of  Etchmiadzin had officially declared their unwillingness to remain  part of the church brotherhood. The archbishops called this a  betrayal of the highest order, which, they said, is unacceptable even  for laypeople, let alone clergy. "These bishops could have openly  expressed their dissatisfaction to ecclesiastical authorities, but  they chose to act secretly, like conspirators," a second statement  from the clergy, released in the past 24 hours, reads.

The archbishops also noted that six of the 10 bishops in question  participated in the 1999 National Church Assembly and openly voted  for Karekin II, a proud act for 26 years, while ridiculing those who  supported other candidates. Four other clergy had received their  titles from Karekin II.  "These actions have created a situation  unprecedented for the Armenian Church in the last 200 years, which  requires an appropriate response," the archbishops' statement  continued.

In this regard, Mikael Ajapahyan and Bagrat Galstanyan called on the  Catholicos of All Armenians to terminate the powers of the bishops  who have deviated from the canons of the Church and to appoint new  diocesan leaders. They also called for a bishops' assembly to be  convened, including the three unlawfully imprisoned priests. "After  the bishops' assembly, a National Church Assembly can be organized,"  the archbishops concluded.