Mother See responds to accusations from rebellious clergy

ArmInfo. The Mother See of Etchmiadzin has responded to accusations from rebellious clergy. They accused the Catholicos of All Armenians of suspending the powers of some members of the Supreme Spiritual Council.

In its statement, Mother See of Etchmiadzin notes that, in accordance  with the decision of the Church Representative Assembly dated June  6-8, 2017, the election of the 21 members to the Supreme Spiritual  Council (SEC) is carried out by geographical regions: two lay persons  from Armenia, two from the Eastern Hemisphere, and one from the  Western Hemisphere. Of the 21 members, two, the Vicar General  of the  Ararat Pontifical Diocese and the Chancellor of the Mother See of  Etchmiadzin, are ex officio members. Of the remaining 19 members, 12  are elected, and 7 are appointed by the Catholicos of All Armenians.  For ecclesiastical elected members, the quota has been set at 2  persons  from Armenia and five from the Diaspora. 

Thus, the composition of the Supreme Spiritual Council is determined  based on the geographical regions and the size of the dioceses.  Considering that, for objective reasons, it was not possible to  convene the Church Representative Assembly after 2017, the Supreme  Patriarch, guided by Article 7 of the Statute of the Supreme  Spiritual Council, has made changes to the composition of the SRC.  The changes were due to the frequent absences of council members,  health issues of certain members, and the fact that several high-  ranking AAC members are deprived of liberty. Furthermore, the changes  were due to the fact that  the new diocesan heads have replaced their  predecessors by force of law, as in the case of the Eastern Diocese   of the Armenian Church of the USA, the Armenian Diocese of France,  the Artsakh Diocese, and the Armenian Diocese of Georgia.