Armenian PM vows action against "sacrilegious" clergy

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has reaffirmed his intent to address what he describes as “the problem of clerics who committed sacrilege,” amid escalating tensions between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC).

“In fact, we have a consensus that the issue of the sacrilegious Srbasans [bishops and archbishops of the Armenian Church - ed.] should be resolved,” Pashinyan wrote in a Facebook post, Caliber.Az reports.

The remarks follow earlier statements by the prime minister, in which he said that the number of celibate clergymen who have families remains undetermined. He also asserted that the state should have a decisive role in the election of the Catholicos of all Armenians, the spiritual leader of the Church.

The dispute took a sharper turn on the morning of May 30 , when multiple Facebook posts appeared on the accounts of both Pashinyan and his wife, Anna Hakobyan. The posts included derogatory and, in some cases, vulgar language targeting representatives of the Armenian Church.

On May 31, the prime minister continued his online criticism of the Armenian clergy, sharing further posts on the subject.

Pashinyan has long had a strained relationship with the Armenian Apostolic Church, often accusing it of meddling in politics and failing to live up to spiritual and ethical standards.

By Sabina Mammadli