By Harut Sassounian
At a time when Armenia is facing an existential threat, one would expect Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s foremost priority to be defending the interests of the country. Regrettably, however, he is preoccupied with clergy celibacy – a matter not within the government’s purview and one that violates Armenia’s constitution, which mandates separation of church and state.
I believe that Pashinyan is raising the clergy celibacy issue for self-serving reasons:
Firstly, his real aim is replacing Catholicos Karekin II with a more compliant clergyman. The Catholicos had requested the Prime Minister’s resignation following his disastrous mismanagement of the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.
Secondly, he is attempting to distract the public’s attention from his many governmental shortcomings.
Thirdly, if he was truly interested in the celibacy of the clergy, he should not have raised it as Prime Minister during a governmental meeting, but as the personal opinion of a church member.
Lastly, his significant error lies in accusing the Catholicos of fathering a child without any evidence — a clear case of libel that grants the Catholicos the right to sue for defamation. An ethics probe has already been launched in connection with Pashinyan’s remarks.
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In response, the Supreme Spiritual Council of Etchmiadzin issued a searing statement condemning the Prime Minister’s campaign against the Armenian Church as “filled with profanity and obscene language, and devoid of fundamental norms of decency.”
Nevertheless, Pashinyan continued his scandalous tirade against the clergy, posting several daily messages on his Facebook page, including:
“We have in fact a consensus that we need to resolve the problem of the blasphemous ‘Srpazans’ [Eminences].”
“If it turns out that Karekin II has indeed violated the vow of celibacy and has a child, he cannot be the Catholicos of All Armenians….”
“The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin must clarify whether Karekin II has violated the vow of celibacy and has a child. This issue must be clarified without any delay.”
“In my opinion, the Catholicos of All Armenians is an unquestionable authority, an unwavering defender of justice, an incontestable source of truth. I cannot believe that the Catholicos of All Armenians can be in the role of a suppressor of the truth. I cannot believe that anything other than the truth can come out of the mouth of the Catholicos of All Armenians. Let Karekin II himself clarify whether he has violated the celibacy vow and whether he has a child. We, his flock, have the right to hear the truth from him.”
“What does Karekin II’s silence signify? We, his flock, await his public clarification regarding his violation of his vow of celibacy and having a child. Remaining silent means consent and excluding oneself from the Patriarchate’s residence. Telling the truth also signifies excluding oneself from the Patriarchate’s residence. Lying also signifies excluding oneself from the Patriarchate’s residence.”
“The state (government) belongs to the people. The church belongs to the people. We have restored the state (government) to the people. We will also restore the church to the people.”
Journalist Norayr Mardirosyan further muddied the waters by writing an article in the Hrabarag newspaper titled: “Is Pashinyan Cheating on his Wife?” He stated: “A few years ago, rumors circulated that Pashinyan is locked in his office for hours with his spokeswoman while strange sounds were emanating from within.” He asserted that he was responding in kind to Pashinyan’s accusations against the Catholicos, adding that “if the Prime Minister can say that there are such rumors, let the Catholicos refute them,” then Pashinyan can be asked the same question. Mardirosyan even claimed that Pashinyan’s wife discovered his affair and tried to get the spokeswoman fired. The reporter concluded: “We, his electors, await his public clarification regarding his violation of marital faithfulness. Remaining silent or lying means excluding yourself from moral norms.”
Separately from his rumor-based report, Mardirosyan erred by referring to Anna Hakobyan as the Prime Minister’s ‘wife.’ Pashinyan clarified his marital status during a live Facebook broadcast on December 18, 2024, while seated next to Anna: “We are not legally married. We are neither married by the state registry office nor by the Church. There is no official document.” Nevertheless, the Prime Minister’s official website erroneously claims he is ‘married.’
The Prime Minister was not amused when Mardirosyan gave him a dose of his own medicine. On his Facebook page, Pashinyan threatened: “I will definitely sue the ‘Hrabarag’ newspaper to prove that family and spiritual life are values and principles for me, not to be used as means to mislead the people. On this occasion, I also insist that Catholicos Karekin II has violated his vow of celibacy and has a child. Let Karekin II sue me as well to prove his adherence to the declared values and his status as Catholicos. PS: The Armenian Apostolic Church is sacred. It is our identity. We must no longer tolerate those who desecrate its sanctity.”
Finally, Pashinyan was incensed upon learning that former Pres. Levon Ter-Petrosyan had visited Catholicos Karekin II on June 7. During that meeting the Church reported, “the president expressed his full support for His Holiness, while strongly condemning the unconstitutional encroachments by the authorities of the Republic of Armenia upon the 1700-year-old Armenian Church.”
Pashinyan angrily responded using entirely inappropriate accusation, stating: “Levon Ter-Petrosyan is the founder of the practice of election fraud in the Republic of Armenia, and he must, of course, stand by a people-hating fraudster and fraud like him.” It is worth noting that Pashinyan once was Ter-Petrosyan’s right hand man and staunch supporter.
The Prime Minister is hardly in a position to lecture on morality, especially when a reading of his book, “the other side of the earth,” reveals a work replete with pornographic content and a veritable cascade of crude, obscene words.
There is no doubt that all clergymen, irrespective of rank, should uphold the highest moral standards of the church, including the vow of celibacy. However, it is equally imperative that the Prime Minister of Armenia respect the Constitution and refrain from intervening in matters beyond his jurisdiction, especially given his own marital status and his inability to manage the affairs of the state.