By Harut Sassounian
With each passing day, the situation in Armenia becomes more disastrous. The country is under attack from enemies both outside and within.
Instead of addressing the multiple existential problems facing the country, Pashinyan has gone to great lengths trying to replace the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II. No matter what problems there may be within the Church, none of them should be the Prime Minister’s concern, since he is constitutionally barred from meddling in the Church’s internal affairs, thus violating the provision of separation of Church and State.
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I will not repeat here all of Pashinyan’s illegal actions and the damage he has caused to Armenia and Artsakh, for which he should have been removed from office long ago. His pornographic Facebook posts and his backing of a defrocked priest should be sufficient reasons to excommunicate him from the Armenian Church membership. The government leader’s behavior shows utter disrespect for the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The former priest was defrocked for “conduct unbecoming of a clergyman.” Nevertheless, he refused to accept that decision and illegally celebrated Mass last Sunday, thus desecrating the Hovhannavank monastery. Creating a tense atmosphere, Pashinyan attended that impermissible Mass held by defrocked priest (Aram) Stepan Asatryan. Joining the Prime Minister were the Ministers of Defense and Economy, various governors, members of parliament, mayors, and city councilmen, all affiliated with Pashinyan’s political party. The Prime Minister’s circle had arranged to have a large number of policemen and members of the public present at the monastery to show their support for the defrocked priest. The Prime Minister received Holy Communion from the hands of the defrocked priest during the Mass, which can be considered a sacrilegious act. “Today’s Mass at Hovhannavank symbolizes the start of the practical phase of the process of the liberation of Holy See of Etchmiadzin,” declared Pashinyan on his Facebook page. He also announced that he will be at the same monastery next Sunday. Such provocative statements could lead to massive clashes and bloodshed, which would be entirely the Prime Minister’s responsibility.
There were two unexpected incidents inside the monastery during the Mass last Sunday. One man yelled during the ceremony, saying the defrocked priest had no right to celebrate Mass. Someone rushed to cover his mouth and forcefully escort him out. Another man grabbed the Bible from the hands of the defrocked priest.
Last week, the government sent policemen to the Hovhannavank monastery to protect the defrocked priest and kick out the legitimate clergy, a violation of Armenian law. This is an abuse of power and an illegal interference in internal church matters. The police should have done the exact opposite; they should have prevented the defrocked priest from entering the church since he is no longer a member of the clergy.
To make matters worse, the Investigative Committee, at Pashinyan’s direction, demanded in writing last Saturday night that all 21 members of the clergy living in the Arakadsodn region report to the Committee’s offices in Yerevan early Sunday morning. The clergy issued a joint statement refusing to comply with this order because they needed to be present at their churches on Sunday morning to celebrate mass for the worshipping public. The government is, once again, illegally interfering in church issues and preventing the clergy from carrying out their religious duties. The clergy stated that they do not wish to go to the Investigative Committee’s offices without the presence of their attorneys, who are not available on Sundays.
After damaging the interests of Artsakh and Armenia, Pashinyan is now trying to destabilize the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has existed for more than 1,700 years. After announcing that he is creating the fake fourth Republic of Armenia, he may now be planning to restructure the Armenian Church.
The illegal arrests of several archbishops and dozens of other clergymen in the past months will surely be appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which has repeatedly ruled in other countries’ cases that a Church is within its rights to expel any member of the clergy who violates its internal procedures.
By refusing to accept the religious authority of the Catholicos, Pashinyan is in fact rejecting the legitimacy of all the baptisms and weddings the Catholicos has performed and all the clergymen he has ordained, effectively declaring them null and void.
Ironically, Pashinyan is openly meddling in Church affairs by misrepresenting himself as a devout member of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He has confessed that he was married neither by the Church nor by secular authorities. In other words, he has been living in sin for several decades. His partner, Anna Hakopyan, mistakenly referred to as “First Lady,” uses government resources to travel with her entourage to various countries and to hold official meetings. It is not known if Pashinyan was even baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Pashinyan has so far managed to divide Armenians worldwide into several antagonistic groups: pro-Pashinyan and anti-Pashinyan clergymen, the ruling regime vs. the opposition, current vs. former leaders, Artsakhtsis vs. Hayastantsis, and Diaspora Armenians vs. natives, etc. A small nation with multiple serious problems cannot be split into so many factions. Soon, there will be nothing left. Using a divide-and-conquer tactic, Pashinyan’s sinister reason for pitting everyone against each other is to ensure that his political party remains in power.
In his zeal to minimize the Church’s role in Armenian society, Pashinyan’s majority in parliament voted last week to close the Shoghakat TV channel controlled by the Armenian Apostolic Church. Shoghakat TV, co-financed by the Church and the government, has operated for two decades. It airs religious and educational programs and does not deal with political issues.
It appears that Stalinism is alive and well to Armenia!
