The Mother See Demands the Restoration of Spiritual Service in Penitentiary Institutions

The Mother See urges the government to respect the law and the perceived church order and, without hindering the mission of the Church, to restore the normal course of spiritual service in penitentiary institutions. By an illegal decision of the Head of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice, clergymen appointed by the Armenian Church were prohibited from entering places of imprisonment. The Head of the Penitentiary Service has effectively suspended the spiritual service in penitentiary institutions of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, at the same time, bypassing the Mother See and ignoring legal regulations, he has signed employment contracts with individual clergymen.