Pope Leo XIV praised the endurance and faith of the Armenian people during a visit to Istanbul, where he addressed the Armenian Apostolic community at their cathedral, a diaspora church rooted in a country where Armenians suffered genocide under the Ottoman Empire.

The remarks came as church leaders in Armenia face growing pressure from their own government.

Standing inside the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral, the spiritual seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, Pope Leo called for renewed unity between Christian churches. He thanked God for "the courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances."

The pope's remarks followed a liturgical program that included a joint prayer, chanting and an exchange of gifts with Patriarch Sahak II Mashalian, head of the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey, Catholic News Agency reports.

The two leaders also marked the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It produced the Nicene Creed and established foundational doctrines, which Pope Leo said should guide efforts to recover unity between the Church of Rome and "ancient Oriental Churches."

The pope emphasized that full communion did not mean absorption or domination but rather an exchange of gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit. The pope also invoked the memory of Armenian saint Nerses IV Shnorhali, whose 850th death anniversary was commemorated recently. Shnorhali was a 12th-century Catholicos, or head of the Armenian Church, known for his poetry and theological writings, as well as for his efforts to promote unity with other Christian traditions.

Leo expressed hope that his example would strengthen efforts toward church unity.

Istanbul's Armenian Patriarchate has long operated with internal independence but remains under the spiritual authority of the Catholicos of All Armenians in Echmiadzin, the worldwide head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, headquartered in Armenia. Turkey's Armenian community, now centered largely in Istanbul, has declined over generations but continues to maintain its identity through religious and cultural institutions.

Later in the day, the pope visited the Orthodox Patriarchal Church of St. George to attend the divine liturgy for the feast of St. Andrew, who is considered the founder and patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the leading authority of the Eastern Orthodox Church based in Istanbul, and also the patron saint of Turkey. Addressing the faithful, he acknowledged ongoing divisions between Christian churches but said the pursuit of unity must continue.

"There are still obstacles preventing us from achieving full communion. Nevertheless, we must not relent in striving towards unity," he said, according to CNA. 

The liturgy concluded with an ecumenical blessing delivered jointly with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Eastern Orthodox Christians and head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate based in Istanbul.

The pope addressed global issues, urging believers to pursue peace through prayer and spiritual discipline and to meet the ecological crisis through personal and communal change. He appealed for shared responsibility in the use of technology, warning against allowing its benefits to accrue only to elites.

Before leaving Turkey, the pope participated in a farewell lunch hosted by Patriarch Bartholomew I, which included shrimp soup, seabass with vegetables and Turkish delights. He departed later that day for Lebanon.

The visit comes during a turbulent time for the Armenian Apostolic Church, whose leadership in Armenia faces mounting pressure from the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Over the past year, at least three senior clerics have been arrested on charges ranging from theft to plotting a coup.

Human rights advocates claim the arrests are politically motivated and part of a larger crackdown on church leaders who have criticized Pashinyan's handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan, especially after the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh and the displacement of over 120,000 Armenians. Among those arrested was Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the Sacred Struggle opposition movement, who was charged with attempting to overthrow the government based on what some civil society groups have since described as misleading audio recordings.

Businessman Samvel Karapetyan, a longtime philanthropist of the Armenian Church, was also arrested in June after expressing support for the clergy. His family's business holdings, including Electric Networks of Armenia and a local pizza chain, have since come under government scrutiny.

Karapetyan remains in pretrial detention, accused of making unconstitutional public calls to seize state power.

Other church leaders, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan of the Diocese of Aragatsotn, were detained in October along with over a dozen others. Proshyan faces charges of coercing citizens into attending protests and misusing church funds.

The Armenian Apostolic Church has denied the charges and called the case an attempt to obstruct its work.

At a recent briefing in Washington, D.C., hosted by the National Democratic Alliance, speakers warned that the arrests jeopardize Armenia's constitutional order and its relationship with Western allies.

Jacqueline Halbig von Schleppenbach, a former White House official and communications strategist, said the situation poses a risk to Armenia's future and its standing as a democratic partner.

Joel Veldkamp of Christian Solidarity International said Armenia's civil society is being "pulverized" under an increasingly authoritarian system. He pointed to the U.S.-brokered August peace deal with Azerbaijan and expressed concern that Pashinyan's campaign against church leaders could endanger both internal stability and foreign partnerships.

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