Armenian PM unveils roadmap for Church reforms

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has presented a “roadmap” for reforming the Armenian Church following the removal of Ktrich Nersisyan (Garegin II).

According to Caliber.Az, he wrote about this on his Facebook page.

“The election of the Catholicos Locum Tenens shall be carried out in accordance with the existing mechanisms of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. The adoption of the Charter of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church is planned. The Charter should address the following issues:

a) Rules of moral conduct for the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and guarantees for their enforcement;

b) Financial transparency of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church and guarantees to ensure it;

c) The necessity for the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church to remain apolitical and guarantees to ensure this;

d) Compliance of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church’s activities with the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia, with guarantees to ensure such compliance; the legislation of the RA should provide guarantees that taxes and fees paid to the state budget will be fully returned to the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church;

e) Social guarantees for clergy and guarantees for their provision, so that clergy can fully benefit from the accumulative pension system, income tax reimbursement mechanisms, social credits, and the universal health insurance system (at present, most clergy do not benefit from these systems due to the absence of an officially established remuneration system).

The election of the Catholicos of All Armenians shall be carried out in accordance with the new Charter.

P.S. The Charter is discussed and adopted by the Church body vested with the appropriate authority. With the mediation of the Locum Tenens, the Government will provide advisory support during the process of drafting the Charter,” he wrote.

By Aghakazim Guliyev