Armenian Church accuses Pashinyan of having ties with Azerbaijan

A meeting of the Supreme Spiritual Council was held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin under the chairmanship of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, which was attended by bishops and heads of dioceses from Armenia and the Diaspora. The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) explained that the participants discussed issues, including those related to the challenges facing the republic and church-state relations. The clergy paid special attention to the anti-church campaign launched by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan a few days ago.

“The Prime Minister has launched another campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church with language, insults and accusations unbecoming a statesman, putting himself above the law. Publications filled with obscenities are devoid of basic norms of politeness, violate basic human rights and grossly offend the religious feelings of believers. This position is clearly dictated by political goals and is an attempt to belittle the authority of the Armenian Apostolic Church and its clergy,” the organization said in a statement.

At the same time, the participants of the meeting stressed that Pashinyan’s anti-church campaign threatens the Armenian statehood and world Armenians, divides society and weakens the national spirit. “Such initiatives serve the ambitions of external Armenophobic forces, being to some extent connected with slander and false accusations directed at the Armenian people and the Armenian Apostolic Church,” their statement says.

In this regard, the Armenian Apostolic Church called on the “competent state authorities” to stop Pashinyan’s anti-church campaign. They also asked believers to unite in order to prevent the national foundations from being shaken.

However, Pashinyan was not very impressed. On the eve of the meeting of the Supreme Spiritual Council, he stated that Garegin II might have an illegitimate child. According to the prime minister, if the rumors are confirmed, the Catholicos should be immediately dismissed, and the new head of the church should be approved with the participation of the state.

“As a follower of the Armenian Apostolic Church, I raise this issue because I see a problem of spiritual security, and I also say this as the Prime Minister of Armenia, because I see a problem of state security. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin should take a position on this situation, after which further clarification of the issue will be conducted,” Pashinyan stressed.

The next morning after the meeting of the AAC leadership, he once again demanded that the church clarify whether the Catholicos had violated celibacy. “The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin must clearly clarify whether Garegin II violated his vow of celibacy and whether he has a child. This issue must be clarified as a matter of urgency,” the Armenian leader said.

Against this background, the newspaper Zhokhovurd sent requests to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee to find out whether Pashinyan limited himself to statements alone or had already launched an official investigation against representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The law enforcement agencies replied that at the moment there are no criminal cases initiated against the clergy for child abuse or violation of the vow of celibacy. As the UK recalled, the latter is not a crime at all. However, Zhokhovurd does not rule out that Pashinyan may have compromising material on priests, but the time has not yet come for its publication.

“It’s easy to guess why Pashinyan ‘remembered’ the church again: his election campaign has already begun, and since the topic of ‘former robbers’ has lost its relevance, he has found the church as an ‘antihero’, where there are many things shrouded in mystery that will be interesting to citizens,” the newspaper concluded.

Alexander Markarov, head of the Armenian branch of the Institute of CIS Countries, told NG that the conflict between the church and the Pashinyan government is not new, but the prime minister has big plans for it.

“Back in 2018, the slogan “New government – new Church” appeared, but then it was not possible to put priests under control. Nowadays, the AAC has one of the highest trust ratings in Armenia and to some extent supports the opposition in its fight against Pashinyan. In this regard, he worries that in the parliamentary elections the church may bring his opponents enough votes for the “Civil Contract” to lose. Accordingly, Pashinyan chose to attack the Catholicos on the topic of celibacy, and could accuse him of corruption.… In this case, it is important for him to attack, and there will be a reason,” Markarov said.

The expert also did not rule out that in addition to election campaigning, Pashinyan is attacking the church as part of his strategy to reformat the nation. In particular, the Prime Minister has already said goodbye to Nagorno-Karabakh and reviewed the history of Armenia. A blow to the Armenian Apostolic Church may undermine the third and last obstacle to the formation of a new Armenian nation.