Arminfo, Yerevan, in Russian
17 Nov 04

Armenian Apostolic Church calls for review of law on religion

Yerevan, 17 November: The participants in a sitting of the supreme
spiritual council in the Holy See of Echmiadzin discussed the
activities of various sects in Armenia and the recent registration of
the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious sect in Armenia.

After acquainting itself with the results of research into the
problem and an active discussion, the supreme spiritual council
decided to issue a statement, the Holy See’s press service told
Arminfo news agency today. According to the statement, the supreme
spiritual council recognizes the right to freedom of conscience and
belief as one of the bases of Christian values. At the same time it
is unacceptable for religious organizations to be registered in
Armenia whose activity is aimed at “trapping people’s souls”, which
infringes freedom of conscience.

The Armenian Apostolic Church expresses concern that the republic’s
state bodies are registering these religious organizations without
sufficient study of their activity. The activity of totalitarian
religious organizations, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses,
contradicts the national values and aspirations of the Armenian
people and the essence of Christianity and seriously contravenes
international law, the Armenian Constitution and those principles of
the Armenian law on freedom of conscience and the activity of
religious organizations that are aimed at protecting national
security, public morality and citizens’ health, the document says.

The document also notes that the Jehovah’s Witnesses sect has been
registered as Christian, while it has absolutely no connection with
Christianity and is not recognized as a Christian denomination by the
traditional churches, the World Council of Churches, the European
Council of Churches, the International Bible Society or other
organizations.

It is remarkable that the Jehovah’s Witnesses, using the Christian
label, are active only in a Christian environment and in Christian
countries, but not Muslim ones.

The statement said that the religious situation in Armenia is getting
out of control also because organizations are being registered as
public organizations, but are carrying out religious activity. Such a
situation cannot promote the recovery of public consciousness, the
preservation of spiritual values in the country, all the more so when
the Motherland and the Armenian people are facing serious economic
problems and are in the process of reforms.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is consistent in fulfilling its
mission, acknowledges its duty towards its flock and is determined to
protect it from any encroachment. The supreme council expects the
appropriate state bodies to be as consistent in examining their
approaches to these issues and their resolution. It is also necessary
to review the law on freedom of conscience and the activity of
religious organizations so that it fully enables the regulation of
the activity of religious organizations in Armenia and serves to
protect the right to freedom of conscience in spite of anarchy and a
lack of control. For it is written “use not your freedom as a pretext
for evil” (the Gospel of Peter [as published, the quotation is from
Peter’s first epistle]).

The supreme council calls on the Armenian people to see the threats
to their everyday life and their right to freedom of conscience and
to be faithful to their historic legacy – the Holy Apostolic faith,
the supreme religious council’s statement says.