Assembly of Bishops kicks off in Austria

The Assembly of Bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church convened in St. Pölten, Austria, on Tuesday, bringing together 25 archbishops and bishops from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, including representatives of the Armenian Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Constantinople.

Participants began the day with morning prayers before formally opening the assembly with the Lord’s Prayer and a reading from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, the Mother See reported.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, addressed the gathering remotely with a pastoral message. Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem Archbishop Nourhan Manougian and Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Archbishop Sahak Mashalian also delivered messages.

Following the approval of the agenda, a bureau was elected to oversee the course of the assembly. An evening service was later held at St. Pölten Cathedral, where the local Catholic bishop, Alois Schwarz of the Diocese of St. Pölten, offered welcoming remarks.

The Armenian authorities have imposed travel bans on Catholicos Karekin II and six members of the Supreme Spiritual Council. As a result, they participated in the meeting online.

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America who has joined Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s anti-church campaign, is also among the meeting participants.

The Assembly of Bishops, convened by Catholicos Karekin II, was initially scheduled for 10-12 December 2025 to address recent developments surrounding the Armenian Apostolic Church and internal church matters, but was postponed amid pressure and arrests targeting clergy. Church officials later announced that the assembly would be held in St. Pölten on February 16-19.