Armenia’s PM accuses church of secretly funding political battles

Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has accused the Armenian Apostolic Church of channelling shadow funds to influence political processes in the country.

Speaking in an interview with Armenia’s Public Television, Pashinyan said the government is investigating reports that financial resources were being directed through the Church for political purposes.

“The Church should not see itself not only as a ‘state within a state’ but also as a ‘foreign state within the state’,” he said.

Tensions between the Armenian government and the Church escalated last May, after Pashinyan posted online comments deemed offensive by religious authorities, including some using coarse language. He later proposed reforms to the election process for the Catholicos, seeking to give the state a more central role in the appointment.

In June, Armenian National Security Service officers attempted to detain Archbishop Mikael Adjapahyan at the Catholicos’ residence in Etchmiadzin. They were met with resistance from both clergy and worshippers.

The dispute highlights the longstanding friction between Armenia’s secular authorities and the influential Armenian Apostolic Church, which plays a central role in the nation’s cultural and spiritual life.

By Aghakazim Guliyev