The Liberal government in Armenia has never been an ally of the conservative Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), but it blows deep divisions when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan makes extraordinary charges against an unnamed senior clergyman.
“Your grace, fool with your uncle’s wife. What do you want me?” Pashinyan said.
He also accused the supreme spiritual leader – Catholic Karikin II – of breaking his celibacy vows and having a child, calling on him to resign. The BBC has contacted the church but has no response.
So far, the church and government have found a way to coexist, but the bank threatens to further disperse the already polarized Armenian society and affect the outcome of next year’s election.
This could also damage peace talks that could potentially reshape the entire South Caucasus region after Armenia’s crushing defeat in the war with Azerbaijan.
After being baptized in 301AD, Armenia was considered the first country to make Christianity a national religion. Despite the separation of the church and the state through law, the Armenian Constitution recognizes the AAC as the state church.
The church has not addressed these allegations, but the Prime Minister has sought a “silent voice.” It reiterated that the government had no say in church governance.
If true, Pashnian’s allegations would make Catholics unsuitable for office work. Under the statute of the church, only monks who vow to be single can be elected as Catholics.
For these reasons, despite having no jurisdiction over the church, Pashinyan now demands Karekin’s resignation. He provided no evidence, but threatened to release it.
Pashinyan also attacked other senior clergy, including accusing an archbishop of having an affair and accusing “deception” with his uncle’s wife.
The opposition and two former presidents of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrossian and Serzh Sargsyan, gathered behind the church and condemned Pashinyan’s actions.
After the defeat in the 2020 war against neighboring Azerbaijan, Karekin II joined calls from various political factions, and the government-church relations deteriorated when the Prime Minister asked the Prime Minister to step down.
Pashinyan was in power and the church became an outstanding anti-government voice.
Recently, Karekin II asked the Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijan region that was recaptured in 2023.
The Prime Minister’s allies were unhappy with the intervention because they contradicted the government’s position in the ongoing peace negotiations.
Pashinyan promoted a swift peace treaty, both countries revoking common claims. But Azerbaijani media seized on the demands of nationalist opposition, proving that Armenia is not ready for peace.
The Armenian Church benefits from being a hub of dissent. In the personal competition among opposition leaders, it is attracting those who are dissatisfied with the authorities.
Armenian political analysts show that this may be the real reason why the government suddenly attacked church leaders.
The next election is scheduled for June 2026, and the anti-church movement may be a preemptive strike against conservative opposition strongholds.
The Prime Minister himself linked his position to politics: “We return the state to the people. Now we must return the church to the people.”
When a powerful benefactor spoke out this week to support the church, the government quickly opposed him.
If opposition politicians fail to defend the action, Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan threatens to “intervent the movement against the church in our own way.”
His residence was attacked a few hours later and he was accused of “publicly calling for the overthrow of the government” on Wednesday. He denied the charges.
The conflict between Armenia’s political and spiritual leaders is a highly sensitive matter, far beyond the national borders, as the church has hundreds of parishes among its diaspora, from Russia and Ukraine to Western Europe, the Middle East and the United States.
Although rumors about Calkin’s alleged secret family have long been circulating in tabloids, the diaspora parishes have filed more serious charges over the years.
They claim that church leaders are extorting monthly payments and micromanagement parishes that once enjoyed operational autonomy.
In 2013, the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem accused Karikin II of having no spiritual values and only leaning towards his material health. The church says the accusation is wrong.
Until recently, Nikol Pashinyan was largely on the competition. He said shortly after taking office in 2018: “I believe the government has no place in the internal issues of the church. After respecting this commitment, the Prime Minister may have changed his mind.
Whatever the result of this line, it could deepen a broken society, not only due to the rupture of political infighting, but also the tension between whether it is an alliance with Russia or the West and the Armenian residents and Armenian residents from Nagorno-Karabakh.
