Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

With the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; from June 5 to 11, during the feasts of the Araratian Week, a Brotherhood Conference entitled "Holy Etchmiadzin as a Mission" was held in the spiritual center of all Armenians.

The Brotherhood Conference was attended by members of the Brotherhood serving in the dioceses and structures of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (Priests, Archimandrites, Proto-Archimandrites). Attending the Conference were also Brotherhood members from Hierarchical Sees of the Armenian Church- Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, Armenian Patriarchates of Constantinople and Jerusalem.

The Brotherhood members unitedly participated in the Divine liturgies of the festive week, which were completed with the Divine Liturgy of the Brotherhood Covenant and the celebration of the Feast of the Universal Church of Holy Etchmiadzin. Reports were made by His Eminence Archbishop Vasken Mirzakhanyan, Director of the Ecclesiastical Conceptual Issues Office of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin -(On the topic of "Promotion of the Social Teaching of the Armenian Church"); His Grace Bishop Armash Nalbandyan, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Damascus- (on the topic of "The Armenian Church in Inter-Church Platforms") and Proto-Archimandrite Zakaria Baghumyan (on the topic of “The Preaching and Spiritual-Educational Mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church in the Modern World: Visions and Challenges". Group discussions were held regarding the topics.

With the blessings of the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Brotherhood members participating in the conference also went to the border communities of the Dioceses of Tavush and Gegharkunik, making pastoral visits, blessing and comforting with the word of God to the heroes who were martyred for the defense of the Motherland, as well as to families with many children and in need.

At the conclusion of the Conference, the Board of directors of the next Brotherhood Conference was elected.

During the conference, the catastrophic situation created in Armenia and Artsakh was addressed with particular concern. In this regard, the clergymen of the Conference issued the following statement.

- unite and strengthen the national unity, keeping intact the national-spiritual values that have nourished and strengthened our identity for centuries. To drive away hatred and enmity, any manifestation of intolerance dictated by political convictions, from Armenian life, firmly anchoring the course of national life on the foundations of brotherhood and solidarity

- to throw away the indifference towards the painful developments around the motherland and to refrain from inspired incapacity and adaptability mentality,

- to keep the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora connection strong and unbroken and to put all the national potential into action in order to protect the right of self-determination of our people of Artsakh and ensure the security of our homeland in a difficult situation.

We urge the local authorities:

- to zealously pursue the realization of the God-given right of Artsakh Armenians to live freely, independently and safely in their homeland, as well as the security and integrity of Armenia's border areas to abandon the decision to exclude the subject "History of the Armenian Church" from school programs and to promote its effective teaching in local schools.

With divine love, we express our support to our Artsakh Armenian brothers and sisters, encouraging them to never give up in the face of difficulties, to continue to protect and build the Artsakh world, strengthened by hope and faith.

With single determination, we express our commitment to do everything possible for the consolidation of the potential of our people in the homeland and diaspora communities, in order to overcome the problems that are storming and exciting the national and domestic life.

From the Mother See of Holy Etchmiatsin, we offer our prayers to the Almighty God, so that the Lord may keep, protect and our Armenian nation in Armenia,  Artsakh and Diaspora under the auspices of His Holy Right Hand.