"The church cannot be above the state" Pashinyan on relations with the Catholicos

The church cannot be above the state, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a meeting with participants in the Prime Minister's Cup school tournament.

According to the head of the Armenian Cabinet, there is nothing more dangerous than mixing the functions of church and state, Caliber.Az reports quoting Armenian media.

"The state should mind its own business, the church should mind its own business, although there are many issues that overlap," he noted.

Prime Minister Pashinyan decided to explain the state-church relationship using the example of importing paraffin. According to him, the church asks to import it duty-free for charity, but the state demands either not to sell the candles or to do it under strict control and with taxation, and according to him, all the money paid to the state budget must be returned. He said it was fundamental for him that the relationship should be legal within the framework of the law and the Constitution.

"But there is another point: if the church wants to engage in political activities, Armenia is a democratic country, and they can create a political party. This would be fairer to political competitors and voters as well," Pashinyan said.

Earlier, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II said that cooperation between the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian authorities is not at a proper level.

The disagreements between the church and Nikol Pashinyan's government surfaced about immediately after the change of power in 2018. Some experts believed that it was the authorities who organised the failed movement against Karekin II. However, the confrontation intensified after the 44-day war, when the church demanded the resignation of the prime minister and his entire team. Representatives of the clergy are periodically involved in opposition movements, while the Catholicos himself is present only at events where his participation is imperative. Even the Yerablur military pantheon is visited separately by the authorities and the clergy.