Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church:  Government campaign is a "spiritual massacre" of Church 

ArmInfo.  The Pan-Armenian Council for the Preservation of the Armenian Church considers the government's campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) a deliberate, planned spiritual massacre.

A statement received by ArmInfo notes that the Pan-Armenian Council  for the Preservation of the Armenian Church held an expanded meeting.  Council members from Paris, Marseille, Tbilisi, Moscow, Sochi,  Munich, Berlin, London, Madrid, Beirut, Aleppo, Tripoli, Boston,  Atlanta, Fresno, Los Angeles, Montreal, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires   took part in the meeting via videoconference. During the meeting,  council members expressed their concern and assessment of the  situation surrounding the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, noting that  the authorities continue their unlawful actions against the Church  and the Catholicos of All Armenians.

"We confront not only an external enemy, but also forces that have  established themselves within our own home and are undermining our  identity from within. The time has come when silence equals treason,  and speaking in a quiet voice is cowardice. If Armenians swallow this  insult today and fail to defend their sacred sites and historical  memory, tomorrow we will find ourselves in a land that is only called  Armenia on paper, completely devoid of all Armenian essence and  dignity," reads the statement issued after the meeting.

They believe that this is no longer a series of incompetent  management or political errors, but a deliberate, planned spiritual  massacre. "The current authorities have brazenly raised their hands  against the strongest pillar of our existence-the Armenian Apostolic  Holy Church. The state apparatus has undertaken the vile task of  dismantling the Holy See, discrediting it, and desecrating our  faith," the statement continues.

"Today, we declare that we will not build Armenia's future on  national oblivion. We speak harshly, because the time for soft words  has passed. We declare unequivocally and demand that the entire world  and the government offices in Yerevan hear us: we will defend the  Mother See of Etchmiadzin. This is not a bargaining chip.

We will preserve Ararat in our souls and at the core of our  statehood. It is not a physical object to be ceded to the enemy. We  will stand for Artsakh and the memory of the Genocide. They are an  integral part of our identity. Armenia is more than just a territory.  Armenia is dignity, memory, and faith that cannot be bought," the  statement continues.