PM Pashinyan concerned over Armenian clerics’ abusive rhetoric

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said some representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church have shifted to insulting rhetoric.

He made the statement at a press conference on May 22, referring to the Church’s reaction to his statement made in Dilijan, Caliber.Az reports, quoting Armenian media.

Earlier, in Dilijan, Pashinyan had said that if the Church wanted to engage in politics, then let it create a party to do so.

This was followed by the reaction of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin - "those who wish to engage in theology can enter a theological seminary, if, of course, they overcome the educational qualifications and present convincing evidence of normal health".

"I apologise if with my statement about the Church I have created a backdrop for inappropriate accusations against other clergymen who are piously and honestly carrying out their spiritual service," he stressed.

According to Pashinyan, insulting political opponents is an imprudent manner, but then he contradicted himself:

"I hope that all those who graduated from the theological seminary and held high positions have presented enough facts about their spiritual, and bodily health - up to and including sexual ones - when they entered the spiritual seminary. I am sure they did, so there is nothing to worry about."

Disagreements between the church and Pashinyan's government surfaced immediately after the change of power in 2018. Some experts were convinced that it was the authorities who organised the failed movement against Karekin II. However, the confrontation intensified after the 44-day war in 2020, when the church demanded the resignation of the prime minister and his entire team. Clerics occasionally take part in opposition movements, while the Catholicos himself joins only those events where his participation is imperative.