“ACNIS ReView from Yerevan”. These days, extraordinary and unprecedented developments are unfolding in Armenia, their echoes resonating even on international platforms. Pashinyan and his partner have launched a rhetorical campaign against the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and its clergy, employing inappropriate terminology and obscene language unbecoming of a high-ranking official, let alone the head of government. Furthermore, he has positioned himself as both the initiator of this discourse and its persistent provocateur. This issue touches upon an exceedingly sensitive topic—the Church, one of the pillars and a cornerstone of our national identity and a vital institution for every Armenian family.
The controversy began when the person holding prime minister’s position during a government session on May 29, criticized the condition of churches across the country, claiming that many resemble “closets littered with construction waste.” Such remarks were widely regarded as sacrilegious, prompting a number of clergy members to respond, as expected, by calling on the head of the executive branch to exercise greater restraint. The situation escalated the following day when, in a series of social media posts, the prime minister and his wife accused certain senior clergymen of violating their vows of celibacy by engaging in secret sexual relationships. They alleged that one cleric had an affair with his uncle’s wife and another was implicated in child abuse. These claims were accompanied by demands for the accused clergy members to be defrocked.
The dispute intensified further, broadening its scope to encompass not only the unpatriotic members of the Civil Contract party but also the paid “fakes” who sought to justify the immoral behavior of the ruling party leader and his partner. These individuals began spreading malice and hatred toward the Armenian Church and its clergy. The Pashinyan-Hakobyan couple, leveraging certain subordinate groups and propaganda tools under their sponsorship, attempted to mitigate the public’s fierce outrage. This raises a poignant question: What provoked the ruling couple to stoop so low—although they were never regarded as being “high” to begin with?
The weekly chronology seems to provide an exhaustive answer to these questions. On May 26-28, the Catholicos of All Armenians, Garegin II, was in Switzerland and participated in his initiative of an in international conference held in Bern by the World Council of Churches and the Swiss Protestant Church and entitled “Religious freedom. Ensuring Armenian spiritual-cultural and historical heritage in Artsakh (Mountainous Karabakh).” The Supreme Patriarch spoke about the policy of Azerbaijani genocide, ethnic strife, and the devastation of Artsakh, strongly protesting the destruction of Armenian monuments, Christian sanctuaries, and the annihilation of residential areas, and the hasty deportation of Armenian citizens in Baku.
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In reality, the Patriarch did in Bern what he is officially obliged to do, but the Government does not, fearing to lose Aliyev’s favor and to be left without a “ticket” of peace ahead of the upcoming elections. The Catholicos of All Armenians has upset Pashinyan’s calculations, trampled on Aliyev’s “foot,” and therefore was not forgiven. Now the person holding the office of prime minister of Armenia is contemplating ways to suspend the official activities of the Catholicos, which he does not have the authority to do. On May 31 and June 2, he made a number of statements on his Facebook page addressed to the Armenian Church, which are both offensive and a direct interference in the internal affairs of the Church.
Pashinyan is ready to eliminate any obstacle threatening his power even at the expense of overthrowing the constitutional order. He has usurped all key branches and institutions of power: the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the National Security Service, the Police, the Army, the Presidency, the Judiciary, etc. Next is the Church, the last fortress, which has been alone for 7 years now, withstanding the threats coming from the government. It is the duty of all of us to enlist in the Holy Struggle, to stand by his Holiness the Patriarch. We must defend the last bastion, the last trench as a nation, defend it with our chests. Otherwise, generations will not forgive us.
The Armenian Center for National and International Studies
