Friday, January 7, 2022 Armenian Church Head Deplores Abuse Of Power Armenia - Catholicos Garegin II blesses worshippers after celebrating Christmas Mass at St. Gregory the Illuminator’s cathedral, Yerevan, January 6, 2021. Catholicos Garegin II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, spoke out against abuse of authority in Armenia’s “public, political or state spheres” on Thursday as he celebrated Christmas Mass again shunned by the country’s leadership. In a message read out at St. Gregory the Illuminator’s Cathedral in Yerevan, Garegin also renewed his calls for Armenians to stick to their Christian faith in the face of grave challenges confronting their nation. “In the current difficult situation, we need to sober up, reject the paths that draw us away from God, firmly anchor our lives on the national and spiritual values that have been passed down through the centuries and guaranteed the survival of our people,” he said. “Every position and authority in the public, political or state spheres must serve the progress of the country and general welfare and security; just as in a pious family. When a position ceases to be perceived as a service it turns into a cause of arbitrariness, of evil and unjust deeds,” added Garegin. He went on to make a case for a “new reality where mutual understanding and solidarity, uprightness and patriotism will prevail.” “With this vision, by the grace of Christ's salvation, dear faithful, let us transform the course of our lives, let us always walk the path of upliftment and loving life,” he said. Armenia - Worshippers attend Christmas Mass at St. Gregory the Illuminator’s cathedral, Yerevan, January 6, 2021. As was the case during the previous Christmas celebration, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and members of his government were conspicuously absent from the liturgy held in Armenia’s largest cathedral. Pashinian’s frosty relationship with the Armenian Church has significantly deteriorated over the past year. The ancient church added its voice to opposition calls for his resignation in the wake of Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. Pashinian openly attacked the church when he campaigned for the June 2021 parliamentary elections. He said “corrupt clergymen” are part of Armenia’s traditional political, intellectual and spiritual elites that tried to prevent the 2018 “velvet revolution” which brought him to power. Garegin’s office rejected the “unfair accusations,” saying that they reflect the Pashinian government’s “attitude towards the national and spiritual values of the Church.” Armenian Soldiers Sent To Kazakhstan Armenia - Armenian soldiers board a military transport plane bound for Kazakhstan, Yerevan, January 7, 2022. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday that it has sent 100 soldiers to Kazakhstan as part of a Russian-led “peacekeeping” operation designed to help the Central Asian country’s government quell angry protests sparked by a sharp rise in fuel prices. “During the mission, the peacekeeping unit of the Armenian Armed Forces will solely perform the functions of protecting strategically important buildings and infrastructure,” it said in a statement. The ministry released photographs of Armenian troops boarding a military transport plane bound for Kazakhstan. It did not say whether they will be deployed in Almaty, the country’s largest city and the epicenter of unprecedented unrest that began five days ago. The troops are part of a 2,500-strong military contingent deployed by Russia and four other former Soviet republics making up the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev asked the military alliance for urgent intervention on Wednesday as mobs stormed government buildings, setting some of them on fire, and looted businesses. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of Armenia, the current holder of the CSTO’s rotating presidency, announced hours later that the bloc will send troops to help “stabilize and normalize the situation” in Kazakhstan. RUSSIA -- This handout image grab released on January 7, 2022 by the Russian Defence Ministry shows Russian paratroopers boarding a military cargo plane to depart to Kazakhstan at the airport of Ivanovo. Pashinian spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday. His office said they discussed the situation in Kazakhstan and “joint steps taken within the framework of the CSTO.” Toqaev declared, meanwhile, that order has been "basically" restored in the country. But he said Kazakh security forces will continue "counterterrorist" operations. Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry said 26 "armed criminals" have been "liquidated" and more than 3,000 of them detained. It added that 18 police and national guard troops have been killed since the start of the protests that escalated into deadly violence on Wednesday. The Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Vahan Hunanian, said on Friday that Yerevan has no plans yet to evacuate Armenian citizens from Kazakhstan. None of them has been injured in the continuing unrest, he said. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.