The Past daily of Armenia writes as follows: According to the Past newspaper’s information, the first session of the Committee for the Defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Christianity, which is considered the start of a coordinated international response to the growing pressure against the [Armenian Apostolic] Church within Armenia, was held in [the capital of Slovakia] Bratislava on January 16. The session was held in a hybrid format. It was chaired by the chairman of the committee, the president of the Forum of Armenian Associations of Europe and the Vienna Club, Dr. Dr. Ashot Grigoryan, internationally renowned lawyer Robert Amsterdam, and former Prime Minister of Slovakia Jan Carnogursky.
According to our information, the discussions during the session were of a closed, practical nature, and the emphasis was not placed on statements, but on concrete actions. Separate attention was paid to the issue of high-ranking [Armenian Apostolic Church] clergymen who have been politically persecuted in Armenia, whose immediate release the committee considers a priority.
His Holiness Father Hovhannes, the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Russia, noted in an online speech that the [Armenian Apostolic] Church, under the leadership of Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, operates exclusively within the canonical framework, and the current pressures are outside the scope of intra-church discussions and are systemic in nature.
The sources of the Past report that Robert Amsterdam presented a package of international steps that are already being formed, which includes raising the issue on the platforms of the OSCE, the European Union and the Council of Europe, official petitions addressed to the leaders of European countries, as well as preparing legal proceedings in national and international instances. The initiative to appeal to the Holy See with a call to defend the Armenian Apostolic Church as the first Christian church in the world was also discussed.
Active work is also planned in the US. [President] Donald Trump's longtime associate Guido Lombardi said that the issue will soon be moved to American political and interfaith platforms, including within the framework of an international conference planned in Washington.
At the end of the session, the committee adopted a decision to systematically inform the international community about the situation surrounding the Armenian Apostolic Church and Christians in Armenia.
