Armenian ruling party official defends PM, threatens to "unmask" all priests

Secretary of Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party’s parliamentary faction Artur Hovhannisyan has threatened to "tear the masks off all priests who live a sinful and vile life while hiding behind their cassocks."

In response to a question about how the ruling party obtained such information about the clergy, Hovhannisyan promised to reveal it when the time comes for the “unmasking,” Caliber.Az writes, quoting Armenian media.

The secretary made the remarks during traditional briefings in the National Assembly on May 30 in defence to the sharp criticism toward the Armenian Apostolic Church by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

It is worth recalling that earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reacted harshly to criticism from Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who regularly questions the moral and personal qualities of the head of government. In particular, one of the points of criticism was the fact that Pashinyan is not officially married.

Nikol Pashinyan’s common-law wife, Anna Hakobyan, in turn, issued a series of scathing remarks on social media directed at the senior clergy, accusing them of hypocrisy, immorality, and false piety. In one of her posts, Anna Hakobyan called Armenian clergymen pedophiles.

Her posts triggered a strong reaction on social media, further heating the already tense political and social climate in Armenia.

Earlier, Araik Harutyunyan, the head of the Armenian prime minister’s office, shared photographs on social media showing the actual condition of Armenian churches. These images were released to back Pashinyan’s statement that “most churches in Armenia are used as closets, filled with construction debris.”

By Sabina Mammadli