Azatutyun — The first session of the ninth convocation of the National Assembly will open on August 2, but for several days now, parliament has remained silent on the issue of inviting the Catholicos. The Mother See confirmed that no invitation has been received so far, calling this unusual, as the first sessions of independent Armenia's parliaments have traditionally been opened with the blessing of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Even after the 44-day war, when relations were tense, the parliament formed through the 2021 snap elections began its work with the prayer of His Holiness.
According to the Law on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, both the President and the Catholicos have the right to deliver a welcoming speech at the opening of the first session, after which deputies take their oath. However, the head of the parliament's staff did not respond to questions throughout the day and did not even answer calls. Civil Contract deputies, who are on vacation, also refused to discuss the topic, with many simply not picking up their phones.
Prime Minister Pashinyan's goal of ousting the Catholicos is also enshrined in his party's pre-election program, which promises to remove Garegin II by 2031. Over the past year, the campaign against the Mother See has reached its peak: criminal cases have been opened against the Catholicos and supporting bishops, while a group of high-ranking clerics have spent months in prison on various charges.
Lilit Galstyan, a deputy from the "Armenia" faction who has worked in parliament for many years, does not recall a similar case where the head of the church was absent from the first session of a newly elected parliament or a presidential inauguration. She believes that with this step, Pashinyan is continuing his agenda of dividing the Armenian people, destroying all possible oases of unity. The deputy assumes that no invitation will be sent to the Catholicos at all, but the opposition, regardless of everything, will receive the patriarchal blessing at Holy Etchmiadzin.
