The first session of the newly convened National Assembly will open without a pastoral blessing.
30-07-2026 11:37 Armenia Press of Diaspora
azatutyun.am For the first time in the history of independent Armenia, the first session of the newly convened National Assembly will open without a pastoral blessing.
«I do not recognize such a Catholicos,» Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today about Garegin II.
The first session of the newly elected National Assembly has so far started with the prayer and message of the Catholicos of All Armenians. This has been the case even after the 40-day war, when Garegin II urged Pashinyan to step down.
The regulations of the National Assembly stipulate that the Catholicos and the President of the Republic have the right to deliver a welcoming speech on the occasion of the opening of the first session. Today, representatives from the «Civil Contract» party stated directly that it would not be logical to send an invitation to the Catholicos.
«It is logical that Ktrich Nersisyan would not be invited to this session,» declared the MP from the Civil Contract party, Sargis Khandanian.
But is it possible that one of the clergymen who joined Pashinyan is invited, for example, Aramayis Takhmazyan, who was present today at the central office of the «Civil Contract»? The defrocked priest neither confirmed nor denied this.
«We want to know—will you be at the session, could such a thing happen?» In response to this question from a journalist, the defrocked priest Father Taden replied: «I think you can ask the National Assembly.»
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
