Russian Orthodox Church Supports Armenian Apostolic Church

The Russian Orthodox Church has expressed support for the Armenian Apostolic Church in relation to the pressures from the authorities.

Konstantin Zatulin, coordinator of the Russian-Armenian International "Lazarev Club" and a member of the State Duma of Russia, received an official letter from Metropolitan Antoniy, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, in response to Zatulin's letter addressing the club's call titled "Where Are You Going?".

In the letter, it was stated, "The Russian Orthodox Church closely follows the development of church-state relations in Armenia. Representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate have repeatedly expressed support for the Armenian Apostolic Church, considering the pressures currently exerted on it and the obvious interference in church affairs by the state authorities. We hope for a swift resolution to the crisis and the normalization of state-church relations in Armenia," as signed by the head of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Volokolamsk.