The church is targeted by the representatives of the government. Garegin B

On April 12, the Catholicos of All Armenians received about 650 church-loving young people from different dioceses of Armenia who came to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on pilgrimage under the guidance of their spiritual pastors. This is reported by the Mother See. The Catholicos of All Armenians sent his patriarchal message to those present, in which it was specifically said: "Since the apostolic times, our Holy Church has been a bright beacon in the life of our people, establishing its children in faith and hope and leading them to God, to the good and the true." The Armenian Church is the spiritual home of our people, where every Armenian finds love, care and concern and is strengthened by heavenly graces and blessings. Whoever wants to know the soul of the Armenian people should look at the Armenian Church. Our Church has given strength to the aspirations of its children to live and create and to the desires of peace and justice. Our Church has given strength to love the nation and homeland and faithful to its mission, it has preserved and enriched our spiritual and cultural heritage, pursued the education of a new generation of Armenians. Our Church, with its strong Christian values, has become a pillar of unity for Armenians around the world, leading its flock both in peaceful days and in times of trials. On the way of this mission, our Holy Apostolic Church often faced various obstacles and difficulties. Even today, we have an undesirable situation, when the Church in our native country is targeted by the representatives of the government. In the last year, we have witnessed unprecedented pressures: illegal arrests of bishops, artificial obstacles to the implementation of spiritual ministry, attempts to seize our ancient monasteries and churches. The person who was released from the position of leader of the Masyatsotni Diocese with the apparent patronage of the authorities and declared disorganized, continues to occupy the presbytery and the illegal decisions of the court and the enforcement service, acting as a diocesan leader in a secular capacity. Recently, we also witnessed another unconstitutional step, when the ruling political force included objectionable provisions regarding the Armenian Church in its pre-election program. All this, as you well know, is accompanied by fabricated accusations, incitement of intolerance, open threats. However, history testifies that our Church has always overcome all trials by relying on God. Even today, the Armenian Church remains a zealous servant of our national rise, an unfaithful supporter of the strengthening of our country, social solidarity, and will continue to protect our national rights, aspirations and goals."